[Ads-l] "kitty-bar"

[Wilson Gray]

On Mon, Feb 22, 2016 at 5:17 PM, Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> Goldie Taylor was born in University City, MO and raised in East St.
> Louis, IL ...
>

In that case, my opinion is that Ms. Holmes's speculation has theoretical
validity, though I suspect that what we have here is an attempt at
re-analysis rather than a mis-hearing. The now-disbanded rap group, Nelly
and the St. Lunatics, were from University City, the seat of most of the
campus of Washington University in Saint Louis, only the easternmost or
"front" part of the campus being located literally in the Independent City
of St. Louis, and, of course, East St. Louis has long been regarded as
little more than the East Side of The Lou, motivating it to give up its
original name of "Illinoistown."

After all, does "Katie, bar the door" make any more sense than "kitty-bar
the door," especially to someone unlikely to be aware that literally
"barring" the door was ever the standard way of protecting a resident
against intruders? It's like "catty-/kitty-corner" vs. "cater-corner."
-- 
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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