A cat passed in front of our car yesterday night and didn't speed up one bit. I had to slow down. When he reached the sidewalk, he looked back and, I swear, gave us the most disdainful look ever. It was so unequivocal that Hubby and I both had to laugh. But it did make me think.
How did the expression scaredy cat (or fraidy cat) come about? None of the cats that I have known were ever frightened easily.
both of our current cats hide out when [usu. male] strangers come into the house -- one in the basement and the other upstairs under a bed. the same thing can happen during a thunderstorm. I can also occasionally make either of them jump a foot straight up by suddenly saying "boo!", or the like. they behave just like a couple of common scaredy cats.
Cats can be very, very cool, ergo: 'cool cat'...
but they are extraordinarily sensitive, too, and really will levitate dramatically and vertically when startled. Their reaction time--or startle time--is lightning fast. I expect because of this reaction time they--when not behaving cool--earned their 'scaredy' rep. Complex. That's one thing you can say about cats. They're complex.
In German, there is no corresponding expression referring to cats, but hares take their rôle: Angsthase. In French, there is the mysterious phrase: "Chat échaudé craint l'eau froide" ("a scalded cat is afraid of cold (not hot!) water")
I think the phrase does'nt mean the poor steaming cat is not afraid of hot water, but that it is afraid of ALL water.
Cute way to put it,though.
There must be a term from psychiatry that describes the scalded cats' transference of fear of scalding water to all water. Perhaps it's simply transference, but I suspect it's probably a term that is much more involved.
Psst, Jackie, come over here for a second. I wanna pelt you!
scaredy cat (or fraidy cat)
The thing that I find interesting about these adjectives is that they are only used to modify the noun cat. At least in my neck of the linguistic jungle. Hmm, fraidy dog, scaredy man. Nope. But what about ascared , as in "George, usually hawkish, was awfully ascared of Liberals."? I guess they're all A-OK.
Un chat échaudé craint l’eau froide
I'd never heard that expression like that wsieber. Here, it is usually just Un chat échaudé crait l'eau. No mention of cold water. Very common expression.
I bet there are a *lot of differences between Swiss French and Canadian French.
--who me, obvious?
Aye, it's not different that English, with all it's variations across the world.
Well, sufficient for Microsoft Word to offer different language settings for French(Canada) and French(Switzerland).
As I recall from psych 101, the cat doesn't transfur (I like that spelling!) the fear of hot water to all water, it just doesn't understand that there may be different sorts of water. Meouch! Clear liquid hurts! Will probably drink lots of milk in the days to come.
In my Word program there are fifteen different French alternatives.
French - Belgium
French - Camaroon
French - Canada
French - Congo
French - Côte d’Ivoire
French - France
French - Haiti
French - Luxembourg
French - Mali
French - Monaco
French - Morraco
French - Reunion
French - Senegal
French - Switzerland
French - West Indies
(not sure what Reunion is though)
An island in the Indian Ocean:
http://www.iledelareunion.net/
(not sure what Reunion is though)
No one actually lives on the Island of Reunion but people who were born there come back from time to time to see old friends, who also live elsewhere but return for the same purpose.
I guess they left out Martinique because it's a department of France. But what about Devil's Island?
thank you Faldage
Father Steve....
(note to self...must stop being so gullible, must stop being so gullible.)
I think the scalded cat fearing any water would be displaying phobia generalization, much as an individual frightened by a rattler might come to react fearfully to all snakes.
Ron.
dellfarmer! Good to see you again! I was hoping you hadn't left us for good.
How about St. Pierre & Miquelon? Or is that a dept. of France?