[Ads-l] catnip for the ladies

[Laurence Horn]

"catnip to men", referring to alluring women (and men?), does exist. The
catnippees are sometimes individual males, sometimes (with no sexual allure
intended) target audiences (concert-goers, music-industry veterans,
award-conferring entities, etc.  What's in common is the sense that the
catnippees
can't resist the allure, as noted.  No idea how far back this goes, but the
OED's first hit is 1885, courtesy of the irresistible Congressional
Record.

Google AI gloss:
The phrase "she's catnip to [someone]" means that a specific woman is
absolutely irresistible, highly attractive, or fascinating to a particular
group of people.
Just as catnip drives cats crazy with excitement, a person who is "catnip"
has a powerful, magnetic appeal that the target audience cannot resist.

Sample google hit, referring to a character in a play:
She lies, she manipulates, she's catnip to every man around, partly because
she's so naïve and pretty and needy.

Here's the OED:
3.
1885–
figurative. A person or thing likened to catnip in being very attractive or
appealing to a particular person or group.

   1. 1885

   He has an uncontrollable appetite for The Congressional Record... It is
   his catnip.

   Atchison (Kansas)  Daily Globe 29 January[image: Citation details for
   Atchison (Kansas) Daily Globe]
   2. 1925

   A little wholesome sentiment is catnip for overworked people who live
   drab enough lives.

   F. Tilden, Virtuous Husband ii. 177[image: Citation details for F.
   Tilden, Virtuous Husband]
   3. 1962

   She is catnip to failures.

   Observer 25 March 24/3[image: Citation details for Observer]
   4. 2021

   Her stories will be catnip to anyone who ever daydreamed of moving to
   the coast.

   Daily Express 11 June 34/1


On Mon, Jun 22, 2026 at 2:13 PM Ben Zimmer <
00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> 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.
> > > >
> > > >
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org