cat's forehead

Question

We say 'cat's forehead' referring to a small land like,"Our garden is a cat's forehead." Is there any such figurative expression in English?Thank you.

Mike in Japan · Accepted Answer

Yes, you can say; "Our garden (or nani-nani) is not big enough to swing a dead cat."
Seriously, this is a fairly common expression.

Itasan · Answer

Thank you, Mike.
What does this 'swing' mean?

Mike in Japan · Answer

I have always assumed it to mean holding the cat by the tail and swinging it around in a circle, but other people may imagine different techniques. <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/2.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/2.gif' alt='Emotion: big smile'/>

BarbaraPA · Answer

Good lord, Mike... I thought you put Benny Goodman on the record player and...

Anyway, a very small area is also a "postage stamp."

Davkett · Answer

Mike In Japan but other people may imagine different techniques.

Itasan · Answer

Isn't it terrible? What do they do it for?

Davkett · Answer

ItasanIsn't it terrible? What do they do it for?

Itasan, beware of taking any of my pictures seriously.

Mike in Japan · Answer

Grammar GeekGood lord, Mike... I thought you put Benny Goodman on the record player and...

... and watched him gyrate?

Mike in Japan · Answer

That's one **** of a big moggie you have there, Davkatt.

I guess you are using this alternative technique 'cos the beast has no tail, right?

(missing image)

"... one of my responsibilities, Chairman, is these reports of big cats that people come across from time to time, sometimes on a Friday night, in my experience. Nevertheless, I think there is sufficient evidence to suggest that at the very least there have been releases of a range of wild cats within the UK.

Mr Elliot Morley
Parliamentary Secretary at the MAFF

Mr Morley continued with a personal comment describing a conversation he had with a shepherd at a village show in his constituency of Scunthorpe.

'I was talking to a shepherd in my constituency at one of the village shows who said that he goes and rounds up sheep in Derbyshire to bring down to Lincolnshire for fattening, and he said, "I come across these Manx cats up there."

I said, "What Manx cats are those?"

He said, "You know, these big cats, no tails, funny little tufts on the ear. They are really fierce when you corner them with a dog."

Mr Morley seemed somewhat baffled by what the shepherd was describing.

'I do not quite know what he is talking about there, but it is possible that you could have a range of species which could be reintroduced in this country with minimum impact on biodiversity, but each case would have to be considered on its merits'.

Perhaps we can be of some assistance to the minister.

The following pages examine the evidence presented by the shepherd and attempt to establish clues to what the animal described to Mr Morley may have been. The most obvious features noted by the shepherd are the descriptors -

big cat,
no tail,
funny little tufts on the ear.

Mike in Japan · Answer

I wonder whether this qualifies as a cat's forehead.

cat's forehead

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