New Yorker's "Jam;" Cat Suit; Southern Tongue, Coxford Singlish Dictionary

[Dave Wilton]

> In a message dated 8/28/02 4:34:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
> Bapopik at AOL.COM
> writes:
>
> >U.S. Open tennis player and runway supermodel wannabe
> >Serena WIlliams described her new outfit as a "catsuit,"
> >or "cat suit." Has this been used before for this article
> >of clothing? She's the cat's meow in it.
>
> It's been around for some years, although I cannot give a date.
> I do remember some newspaper article a while ago recommending it
> "for women who never have to go to the bathroom".
>
> You might check old theatrical reviews of the Andrew Lloyd
> Weber musical "Cats".

The OED2 has "cat-suit" from 1960, although a "traditional" catsuit covers
the legs down to the ankles (unitard) and a purist might argue that Serena's
outfit doesn't qualify. Googling turns up a few uses of "catsuit" to refer
to racing swimsuits and other aerodynamic sportswear (and also as lingerie
for indoor sports).  Some of Serena's quotes refer to it as "like a
catsuit," so she seems to be aware of the difference.