Carmichael wrote: > Hello Ito, I am just speaking off the top of my head, but I think the "grin like > a Cheshire cat" comes from Charles Lutwidge Dodgson's, aka as Lewis Carroll, > Alice's Adventures In Wonderland). According to Hendrickson's _Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins_ this expression was first used by the pseudonymous British satirist Peter Pindar (John Wolcot) in the late 18th Century, meaning "a broad smile." Of course, it was Lewis Carroll who popularized the expression. Probably the expression's continuing popularity and widespread comprehensibility has been driven by movie versions of Alice's Adventures (Disney, et al). Phrases such as "fighting like Kilkenny cats" have not had such advantages and, thus, are known either regionally (I wonder if this is a common expression in some varieties of British or Irish English) or only in literature. I wondered if you picked up the phrase "the cat's meow." Hendrickson does not include that entry. It strikes me as somewhat archaic American English (used perhaps by people who grew up in the 1920's to 40's, but no longer used in the younger generations). It means someone or something that is "exquisite." "At the dance last night, she was the cat's meow." Thanks for raising the interesting questions on idioms, and thanks also to the other respondents who have made interesting contributions. Mike Medley ********************************************************************** R. Michael Medley VPH 211 Ph: (712) 737-7047 Assistant Professor Northwestern College Department of English Orange City, IA 51041 **********************************************************************