a deadly game of cat and mouse

Mon Jan 25 00:16:01 UTC 2010

Here are some more examples of the cliche that combines "deadly" with
"cat and mouse". In the 1920 cite the phrase "cat and mouse" is put in
quotation marks. In the 1942 cite the phrase "cat and mouse game" is
put in quotes, and in 1945 the quotes are omitted.

Citation: 1920 July 12, The Daily Mail (London), "At the Villa Rose,"
Mr. A. E. W. Mason's Strong Drama at the Strand, Page 5, London.
(NewspaperArchive)

Always best in strongly marked character-parts, Mr. Arthur Bourchier
played the serio-comic detective with reserved force that gave power
to his amusing but deadly "cat and mouse" manoeuvres. His disguise as
the hirsute villain delighted a small boy who likes to see people turn
into other people, and who may stand for the great public.

Citation: 1942 June 5, The Lowell Sun, Gen. Rommel Trying to Reform
Forces, Page 37, Lowell, Massachusetts. (NewspaperArchive)

The main campaign presently might he described as a deadly "cat and
mouse game" as the British attempt to hold Rommel's forces in the
minefield area in the hope of smashing them before they can reorganize
for an offensive or retreat through the gaps to the west.

Citation: 1945 February 09, Long Beach Independent, Roer River Dams
Big Prize to Yanks by Frank Conniff, Page 20, Long Beach, California.
(NewspaperArchive)

After allied and German armies maneuvered throughout the winter in a
deadly cat and mouse campaign to seize or protect the dams, American
gains enabled the veil of secrecy to be withdrawn from the action.

Garson

On Sun, Jan 24, 2010 at 11:15 AM, Jonathan Lighter
<wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: a deadly game of cat and mouse
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Nice work, John. I had no idea.
>
> Despite the primordial treatment of mice by cats, I can't help wondering if
> the social  game really is the effective (or co-effective) source of the
> cliche'. The relatively late, sequential appearance of both might not have
> been predicted.
>
> JL
> On Sun, Jan 24, 2010 at 9:31 AM, Joel S. Berson <Berson at att.net> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       "Joel S. Berson" <Berson at ATT.NET>
>> Subject:      Re: a deadly game of cat and mouse
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> At 1/24/2010 01:29 AM, Baker, John wrote:
>> >"Game of cat and mouse," without "deadly," is older, of course; OED
>> >has it back to 1887 (under the entry for "cat"), and Wilkie Collins
>> >used it in his contribution to The Haunted House (1859).
>> >
>> >But I never previously realized that this was a literal game.  From
>> >the March 1878 issue of Golden Hours, via Google Books:
>>
>> I have an unspecific memory of playing this myself as a child!
>>
>> And of course it is a literal game to literal cats, who are known to
>> bat a live literal mouse around a bit before dispatching it.
>>
>> Joel
>>
>> >
>> >
>> ><<The Game of Cat and Mouse.
>> >
>> >Al.L the players but two join hands in a ring. One is inside, and is
>> >called the Mouse, another is outside and is called the Cat.
>> >
>> >The players begin the game by turning round ihe circle rapidly,
>> >raising their arms. The Cat springs in at one side of the ring, and
>> >the Mouse jumps out at the other. The players then suddenly lower
>> >their arms, so as to keep Ihe Cat in. The Cat goes round and round,
>> >trying to get out; and as the circle of players is in motion all the
>> >lime, she is sure to find a place to break through at, if she is a
>> >sharpsighted Cat. As soon as she gets through, she chases the Mouse,
>> >who tries to save herself by getting inside the circle again.
>> >
>> >To let her in, the players raise their arms. If she gets in without
>> >the Cat being able to get in after her, the Cat must pay a forfeit,
>> >and try again. Then the players name the other players for the next
>> >game,-the new ones fall into a circle, and the game goes on as before.
>> >
>> >The Cat should be one of the elder children of the party, and the
>> >Mouse a younger boy or girl.>>
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >John Baker
>>  >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >________________________________
>> >
>> >From: American Dialect Society on behalf of Jonathan Lighter
>> >Sent: Sat 1/23/2010 9:04 PM
>> >To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>> >Subject: a deadly game of cat and mouse
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >Hearing this cliche' on TV for the nth and final time I can stand it just
>> >now, I decided to look into the problem.
>> >
>> >The earliest I could come up with was in Michael O'Malley & Ralph Lane's
>> >"Vic Flint"  strip in the _Clovis (N.M.) News-Journal_ of July 11, 1948
>> (via
>> >Newspaper Archive): "Inside the Crystal Lake Amusement Park a deadly game
>> of
>> >cat and mouse was in progress."
>> >
>> >It seems to have taken off almost instantly, though high-class periodicals
>> >like the N.Y. Times were slow on the uptake.
>> >
>> >JL
>> >
>> >------------------------------------------------------------
>> >The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
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