living in a tree

[Baker, John]

        Perhaps this is an intensification of, or otherwise related to,
"sitting in the catbird seat," meaning to be in a position of power or
prominence (cf. the famous short story by James Thurber).

John Baker


> -----Original Message-----
> From: James A. Landau [SMTP:JJJRLandau at AOL.COM]
> Sent: Thursday, April 19, 2001 1:58 PM
> To:   ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject:      Re: living in a tree
>
> In a message dated 4/19/01 1:11:06 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> pulliam at IIT.EDU
> writes:
>
> << White Sox announcers John Rooney and Ed Farmer tonight noted that
>  ballplayers will say "He's living in a tree" about someone who is
>  going through a great fielding streak, gobbling up every ball
>  anywhere near them.  Rooney and Farmer were mystified as to the
>  metaphorical origin of the phrase--I would assume the ballplayers are
>  likening the streaking player to a squirrel, but of course I could be
>  wrong.  Anybody got any other ideas? >>
>
> a very long shot: is "living in a tree" related to "out of your tree", a
> phrase meaning "crazy, eccentric, nonsensical"?  (I heard this phrase from
> a
> classmate in college in 1966).
>
>          - Jim Landau