team names & "-cat"

[Mark A Mandel]

On Tue, 25 Feb 2003, Catherine Aman wrote:

#Likewise, seems to me that age of dot-coms spawned surprising number of
#-fish monikers: babblefish (or was it babelfish?), razorfish, etc (also: red
#herring, phish).

"Babel fish" is unquestionably straight from Douglas Adams's
_Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_. "Here, you'll need to put this fish
in your ear." It feeds on language and excretes thought waves
corresponding to the meaning of what it is consuming. IOW, it's one of
the most entertaining versions of the Universal Translator plot mechanic
device ever created.

-- Mark A. Mandel