Cats and Kits and Things Trivia Quiz

Answer: All of these

An easy start. (If you got it right, that is!) A kitty is often created to pay for the drinks by people going to a pub for the evening, possibly after a game of bowls. They might even meet up with the pub cat. OK, I'm pushing it a bit...

Answer: True

A sort of pocket violin used by dancing masters (no, not DJs!). I suppose they'd play a bit, then demonstrate the steps, then play again while the pupil tried it. Usually long and thin to fit into a pocket.

Answer: Fighting in which both (or all) parties are destroyed

There wanst was two cats in Kilkenny,
Aitch thought there was one cat too many;
So they quarrelled and fit,
They scratched and they bit,
Till, excepting their nails,
And the tips of their tails,
Instead of two cats, there wasn't any.
(Not by Baloo, but by the great poet A. Nonnymouse)

Answer: To give away a secret

Baloo is being generous. (No? Ah well...) Cat in bag is connected to pig in poke. If you buy a pig in a poke (a type of bag), you may end up with a cat instead (not everyone else being as honest as us). (If the bag goes 'Meow!' before you buy it, you deserve what you get!) If someone lets the cat out of the bag, the secret's out. And you don't buy it. On the one hand, you wanted a pig, and on the other, the cat will probably be up a tree. Basically, it boils down to two sayings coming from one scam. Now there's a real bargain...

Answer: No

The most consistently gentle cats I've ever had or met. Dignified, but friendly and well recommended if you can find them. Not common, and probably still not able to be registered in the UK. Not easy to breed, as you can't breed Fold to Fold for genetic reasons. (I accidentally ended up with one long-haired one. Never worked out how!) OK, that one was hard...

Answer: False

Turkish Van cats like to swim. One of my fellow posters on AFT says his Maine Coon cats like to sit in the rain. ("You won't believe this" spot: An all black shorthair I had once - called Fitzwilliam because he was black - came in one horrible stormy day. I said to him - as you do - 'What's it like out, Fitzy?' He shook himself, looked at me and said 'Wet, wet, wet!' I swear it.)

Answer: A sailing boat with one mast

Don't think the side sails would work. (Go on, tell me they do...) Not easy thinking up some of this rubbish, you know. The boat selling provisions was a bumboat. A cat boat has one mast, set well forward and usually unstayed (no, not 'without corsets'!), and a large sail usually set with a gaff.

Answer: True

Caterpillar is probably from Old Northern French, meaning 'hairy cat'. Catkin is from Dutch meaning 'kitten'. By the way, the Japanese word for catkin contains the element neko. Which means cat. Interesting.

Answer: False

No, they're a branch of the Siamese/Burmese breed, given another exotic name. They're comparatively recent, and someone thought that one up. Another 50-50 chance there. What am I thinking of?

Answer: A hole for human waste disposal

In outdoor and wilderness settings, a "cat hole" is a term used to describe a small hole dug in the ground for human waste disposal. When camping or hiking in areas without restroom facilities, individuals may be advised to dig a cat hole to bury their feces as part of Leave No Trace principles.

This practice helps minimize environmental impact by preventing the spread of disease and protecting water sources. A gryke, by the way, is a gap between clints and should never be circular.

Answer: A cross between bison (buffalo) and cattle

Yes. OK. It DOES have 'cat' in it... The word is a cross between cattle and buffalo, just as the critters are. Bird and fruit are both figments of Baloo's imagination. Funnily enough, there is a patented indoor toilet device for cats incorporating a brush to get litter off their fur - but it's called a Cat Hole. Only found that out while doing corrections. Small world...

Answer: In an unknown state of being dead or alive

Created by Erwin Schrodinger (who? guess what - Look Him Up!) in a 'thought experiment' (no real cats used, that is). I quote here (as it's rather hard to explain) from something with a Cornell University address: "A cat is placed in a box, together with a radioactive atom. If the atom decays, and the geiger-counter detects an alpha particle, the hammer hits a flask of prussic acid (HCN), killing the cat.

The paradox lies in the clever coupling of quantum and classical domains. Before the observer opens the box, the cat's fate is tied to the wave function of the atom, which is itself in a superposition of decayed and undecayed states. Thus, said Schroedinger, the cat must itself be in a superposition of dead and alive states before the observer opens the box, ``observes' the cat, and ``collapses' it's wave function." So you didn't know until you opened the box whether it contained a flat furry lump or a spitting fury aimed at your face. Please don't try it at home. If the animal protection people don't get you, the FBI (Scotland Yard or whatever your local lot are called) will - for possessing radioactives. Schrodinger is reputed to have said later in life that he wished he'd never met that cat.

A body scanner used to be called a cat scanner - computer assisted tomography. I used to think it was funny that that that contained 'tom'. Doesn't take much...

Answer: A weight of about a pound and a half

Be careful, Baloo.... OK, catty means spiteful. But I asked about 'A' catty. From Malayan 'kati', the catty was a unit of weight especially used in China.

Answer: All of these

It's amazing what you learn when you're making up these quizzes... Have a go, if you haven't already. I don't remember coming across this word before I researched this quiz. I did once compile a 30,000 word rhyming dictionary. Sadly, it was unpublished as someone beat me to it. (All together now...)

Answer: All of these

You thought I was trying to trick you there, didn't you? Guess what... it comes from Tamil 'kattumaran', meaning 'tied timber', so the log raft is closest. The quarrelsome woman connection is apparently because it's got cat in it. I'm glad I found that out, aren't you? By the way, did you know that 'mao' means 'cat' in both Ancient Egyptian and Modern Chinese? You do now! And it's Miaow from me...