cat/catfish

[Gerald Cohen]

At 10:47 AM -0400 10/23/03, Baker, John wrote:
>Gerald,
>         Although your excerpts make a good case that "cat" by itself
>can refer to catfish, it's not clear from them that "more than one
>way to skin a cat" refers to catfish.  Was there something more in
>your article?


There are also quotes for "cat" (= catfish) in DARE. As for "...skin a cat,"
my article on this expression quotes two interesting letters to Dear Abby:

1) "Dear Abby: I think you should know that the 'cat' in the phrase
'There's more than one way to skin a cat' refers not to the furry
feline variety, but to the Mississippi mud variety: catfish.
     "Some types of catfish have a smooth, tough, inedible skin
instead of scales, and, therefore, must be skinned--not scaled like
most other fish.  So if you were to ask any number of catfish
aficionados how to prepare this Southern delicacy before cooking, you
will probably hear a variety of methods, hence the expression
'There's more than one way to skin a cat.'
   [signed]: Another Cat Lover"

2) "Dear Abby: Having grown up in Mississippi, the catfish capital of
America, I can tell you that the expression 'There's more than one
way to skin a cat' has nothing whatsoever to do with skinning a cat.
It means skinning a catfish.
        :Catfish have a tough outer skin instead of scales, and
fishermen have long argued about the most efficient method of
skinning a catfish.  And that, Dear Abby, is how that expression came
about.
        [signed] Jack L. Dveirin, New Orleans"


Gerald Cohen