[Ads-l] catnip for the ladies

[Ben Zimmer]

More fashion from 1949...

https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-catnip-for-men/200096899/
Boston Globe, Jan. 13, 1949, p. 1, col. 4
Tight-as-Skin Dresses 'to Be Catnip' for Men
"We hope our collection this year will be catnip to the average male," says
dark-eyed Ceil Chapman whose bare-shoulder decolletages and great
yards-around skirts are designed to catch the stag-line eye in Podunk or
Poughkeepsie.

On Mon, Jun 22, 2026 at 1:58 PM Jonathan Lighter <
00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> GenealogyBank, easier to use when searching for phrases including
> common words, has 25 exx. of "catnip for men." The earliest legit is
> from 1988. All refer to fashions or perfumes rather than human beings.
>
> JL
>
> On Mon, Jun 22, 2026 at 1:25 PM Laurence Horn
> <00001c05436ff7cf-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> > Is it worth checking to see if this extended catnip also applied in
> > sex-nonspecific use, as in "catnip to/for men"?  Here's Google AI on the
> > contemporary use:
> >
> > "Catnip for men" is a colloquial phrase most commonly used in the
> fragrance
> > and dating community to describe intoxicating, irresistible scents
> designed
> > to draw men in. It also refers to viral pheromone perfumes or specific
> > popular fragrances believed to be highly attractive to the opposite sex."
> >
> > I didn't even know there was a "fragrance and dating community".  I
> suspect
> > that the variety of catnip in question could extend to organic pheromones
> > (or other traits).  But presumably this use is post-Mencken?
> >
> > LH
> >
> > On Mon, Jun 22, 2026 at 1:14 PM Jonathan Lighter <
> > 00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> > > Earlier (all Newspapers.com):
> > >
> > > 1926 H. L. Mencken, in _Evening Sun_ (Baltimore) (Aug. 30) II 15:
> > > Valentino...was catnip to women.
> > >
> > > 1927 _Evening Sun_ (Baltimore) A (Oct. 25) 30:  William was the club's
> > > golf champion, tall and sleek and a combination of sinew and catnip
> > > for the ladies.
> > >
> > > 1928 _Evening Sun_ (Baltimore) (Apr. 24) 24: He is a gay and handsome
> > > dog,...catnip for the ladies.
> > >
> > > 1928 _Richmond Times-Dispatch_ (Jul. 2) 4: BYRON...was catnip to the
> women.
> > >
> > > 1933 _Commercial Appeal_ (Memphis)  (Feb. 12) III 6: Rudy Valle,
> > > catnip to [sic] the ladies.
> > >
> > > 1940 _Daily News_ (NYC) (Oct. 4) 60: Dennis O'Keefe shows to advantage
> > > in a role that makes him "catnip" for the ladies.
> > >
> > > It would seem for now that Mencken created the concept, if not the
> exact
> > > phrase.
> > >
> > >
>

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