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| image courtesy Leslie Sigal Javorek, via Creative Commons 3.0 |
According to language maven Richard Lederer, the phrase predates Lewis Carroll's famous book.
"Charles Ludwidge Dodgson," Lederer writes, "best known to the world as Lewis Carroll, popularized the Cheshire cat in his children-of-all-ages classic, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). The Cheshire cat in the story gradually faded from Alice's view, its smile being the last part of the animal to vanish.
To grin like a Cheshire cat goes back before Carroll, and the source could be Cheshire cheeses, which were at one time molded in the form of a cat.
Another theory contends that the cat grins because the former palatine of Cheshire once had regal privileges in England, paying no taxes to the crown."
(confession: we had to go look up palatine. Wikipedia says it means "a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire, a palatinate administered by a count palatine." Um. Okay. Faraday's still scratching his head on that last explanation!)
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Sources: Richard Lederer on Jewish World Review and Wikipedia
We just learned something new from you!
ReplyDeleteMethinks many of us were grinning like a Cheshire cat after Christmas. Have a terrific Thursday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
Mom likes to say 'You learn sumfin new efurry day' and today we learned sumfin' new & innerestin frum you furriends :)
ReplyDeleteI have GOT to practice my grin! purrs
ReplyDeleteWow! That is a very old saying! Thanks for the trivia and Happy Thursday!
ReplyDeleteWe kept looking at that cat because it kinda looked like a grinning scorpion!
ReplyDeleteNow my human wants a Cheshire cheese cat!
ReplyDeleteThank´s for learning me and mom where the expression Grinning like a Cheshire Cat maybe come´s from :)
ReplyDeleteWhat's not to love?
ReplyDeleteCheese, Cats, Smiles!
...unless of course it's Waffles Too who's smiling. Evil lurks beneath HIS grin.
; ) Katie
Allie: Oh you are SO right. I started growling at Faraday a bit ago, and he looked all innocent - but I KNEW what was lurking in his thoughts! He might have been just sitting there, but *I* knew!
DeleteFascinating! Especially since the Alice stories were also parodies of the English political system, as so many English stories turn out to be. Btu for once a happy cat story!
ReplyDeleteHmmm how interesting... I think I would love some cheese in the shape of a cat! hehe
ReplyDeleteI have always LOVED the Cheshire Cat! I have been told many times that I grin like him hehehe
ReplyDeleteMaxwell: Cody, dood! For realz? COOL!
DeleteWell, we didn't know that!! Now we are eddicated!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't know that but we do like Cheshire cheese.
ReplyDeleteWe love the Cheshire cheese, a lovely cheddar. Cats love it too!
ReplyDeleteWhat a happy smile!
ReplyDeleteTBT here: The Palatine Hill was where Romulus and Remus (founders of Rome) were nurtured by a she-wolf. Palatine is the Latin origin word of "palace", and a "Palatine" was a high castle official. In later centuries, a Palantine managed an outland area for the castle lord. Much as "sheriff" comes from "shire-reeve", the person who enforced laws in an English Shire.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I get off on this stuff sometimes... Now, back to the cats.
Cats: We LOVE Cheshire Cat and wish we could do HIS trick of disappearing. We try and try, but it seems we allus leave a tail or paw hanging out!
Ooh, thanks for telling us! Wikipedia was not much help when we tried researching the whole Palatine thing!
DeleteOh, and thanks for using both Palatine and Palantine. We got really confused when they seemed to be interchanging those!
DeleteCheeses molded in the form of a cat? They don't have that in France, only stinky cheeses!
ReplyDeletePurrs
Cheese? Mmmm. Nommy.
ReplyDeleteDarn. Mark's Mews beat us to the Palatine Hill story.
We like Palatino font ;-) Hello, non sequitur!
MOL! We try to snoopervise mommy so she avoids those (heee)
DeleteI'm gonna go have a taste of Alfie, cheese is my favourite :) xx00xx
ReplyDeleteMollie and Alfie
Grinning is my favorite pass time!
ReplyDeleteKisses
nellie
We love trivia! Thank you. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrs.
ReplyDeleteBut a smiling visitor here to share the
ReplyDeletelove (:, btw great layout.
Hello, all is going sound here and ofcourse every one is sharing data, that's really
ReplyDeletegood, keep up writing.