ジョン万次郎の伝記、Heart of a Samuraiの中に出てきた "lashing with the cat" を先日取り上げた後に、昨日のブログで猫の額の区民農園に触れた時に「猫の額」にそっくりな英語の表現を思い出しました。
"No room to swing a cat" と言うこの表現を知ったのは多分半年位に読んだWORLD WIDE WORDS E-MAGAZINE
の記事ですが、その時の記事はメモしていないので、"No room to swing a cat" の意味と例文を改めてネット検索しました。
・Phrase Finder: An awkwardly small, confined space
Origin: Whether the 'cat' was a real moggy or the flail-like whip used to punish sailors in the British Navy isn't clear. Many reports claim that the cat in question is the 'cat o'nine tails'. As so often though, they don't supply evidence, just certainty. As a candidate for folk etymology goes the 'cat o' nine tails' story has it all - plausibility, a strong storyline and a nautical origin. That's enough to convince many people - the actual evidence shows the theory to be highly dubious. The phrase itself dates from at least the 17th century. Richard Kephale's Medela Pestilentiae, 1665:
"They had not space enough (according to the vulgar saying) to swing a Cat in."
The nature of that citation makes it clear that the phrase was already in use prior to it being committed to paper. The 'cat o' nine tails' isn't recorded until 1695 though, in William Congreve's Love for Love:
"If you should give such language at sea, you'd have a cat-o'-nine-tails laid cross your shoulders."
If those dates are in fact the earliest uses then the 'cat o' nine tails' theory is wrong. The task for anyone who wants to claim that theory correct is to pre-date those citations.
"No room to swing a cat" の "cat" が "lash with the cat" の "cat" と同じ、つまり、"cat-o'-nine-tails" だという説はもっともらしいのですが、Phrase Finderは誤りとしています。
引用すると長くなるので全文は引用しませんが The Word Detective（http://www.word-detective.com/back-h2.html#swingacat）は 'cat o' nine tails' 説の他に、猫の尻尾を掴んで振り回す場所がないという、猫嫌いだった（猫に飼っていた小鳥を何度が殺されたので）私ならしかねない、文字通りの意味だという説もあります。
The other, less cat-friendly theory is that the phrase refers to literally swinging a cat around by its tail. This version seems to have quite a bit more evidence in its favor, the phrase having come into use in the mid-17th century and being used with clear reference to actual cats ever since, including in Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield."
（The Word DetectiveのHere Kitty, Kittyよりの抜粋）
"No room to swing a cat" と言うこの表現を知ったのは多分半年位に読んだWORLD WIDE WORDS E-MAGAZINE
の記事ですが、その時の記事はメモしていないので、"No room to swing a cat" の意味と例文を改めてネット検索しました。
・Phrase Finder: An awkwardly small, confined space
Origin: Whether the 'cat' was a real moggy or the flail-like whip used to punish sailors in the British Navy isn't clear. Many reports claim that the cat in question is the 'cat o'nine tails'. As so often though, they don't supply evidence, just certainty. As a candidate for folk etymology goes the 'cat o' nine tails' story has it all - plausibility, a strong storyline and a nautical origin. That's enough to convince many people - the actual evidence shows the theory to be highly dubious. The phrase itself dates from at least the 17th century. Richard Kephale's Medela Pestilentiae, 1665:
"They had not space enough (according to the vulgar saying) to swing a Cat in."
The nature of that citation makes it clear that the phrase was already in use prior to it being committed to paper. The 'cat o' nine tails' isn't recorded until 1695 though, in William Congreve's Love for Love:
"If you should give such language at sea, you'd have a cat-o'-nine-tails laid cross your shoulders."
If those dates are in fact the earliest uses then the 'cat o' nine tails' theory is wrong. The task for anyone who wants to claim that theory correct is to pre-date those citations.
"No room to swing a cat" の "cat" が "lash with the cat" の "cat" と同じ、つまり、"cat-o'-nine-tails" だという説はもっともらしいのですが、Phrase Finderは誤りとしています。
引用すると長くなるので全文は引用しませんが The Word Detective（http://www.word-detective.com/back-h2.html#swingacat）は 'cat o' nine tails' 説の他に、猫の尻尾を掴んで振り回す場所がないという、猫嫌いだった（猫に飼っていた小鳥を何度が殺されたので）私ならしかねない、文字通りの意味だという説もあります。
The other, less cat-friendly theory is that the phrase refers to literally swinging a cat around by its tail. This version seems to have quite a bit more evidence in its favor, the phrase having come into use in the mid-17th century and being used with clear reference to actual cats ever since, including in Charles Dickens' "David Copperfield."
（The Word DetectiveのHere Kitty, Kittyよりの抜粋）
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