[ti:When the Cat¡¯s Away] [ar:Faith Lapidus] [al:WORDS AND THEIR STORIES] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]Go to 51voa.com for more... [00:09.60]Now, the VOA [00:12.59]Special English program [00:14.68]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. [00:17.32]Cats are the most popular pets [00:20.60]among Americans. [00:22.09]So it is not surprising that [00:25.23]there are many expressions [00:27.52]about cats. [00:28.86]Some cats like [00:31.55]to catch small birds, [00:33.29]like canaries. [00:34.48]If someone looks very proud [00:37.92]or satisfied with himself, [00:40.36]we say he looks like the cat [00:43.64]that ate the canary. [00:45.78]Sometimes, a cat [00:48.52]likes to play with [00:50.38]a small animal it catches. [00:52.37]So if you play cat [00:55.80]and mouse with someone, [00:57.45]you change between different kinds [01:00.53]of behavior when dealing [01:02.52]with another person. [01:04.02]For example, a child might [01:07.40]offer something sweet [01:08.89]to her little brother [01:10.29]and then take it away [01:12.53]when he reaches for it. [01:14.17]A cat will often [01:16.90]catch a small animal [01:19.14]and present it to its owner. [01:21.73]The saying that looks like [01:24.67]something the cat dragged in [01:26.31]describes something [01:27.90]in bad condition. [01:30.12]Two old and funny expressions [01:33.24]describe something that [01:35.53]is the best or finest. [01:38.26]Americans might say that [01:40.85]something is the cat's meow [01:43.34]and the cat's pajamas. [01:45.58]Children might call a child [01:49.16]who is easily frightened [01:51.30]a fraidy cat or a scaredy cat. [01:55.23]A copycat is someone [01:58.52]who acts just like someone else [02:01.36]or copies another person's work. [02:04.30]A fat cat is a person [02:09.07]with a lot of money. [02:11.01]You may have known that cats [02:14.85]spend most of their time sleeping. [02:17.73]Sometimes people sleep [02:20.77]for a short time during the day. [02:23.40]This is called a cat nap. [02:26.34]If you tell about something [02:30.07]that was supposed to be a secret, [02:32.91]we say you let the cat [02:35.70]out of the bag. [02:37.24]If you are not able to speak [02:40.62]or answer a question [02:42.42]someone might ask if the cat [02:45.25]has got your tongue. [02:46.94]Have you ever watched children [02:50.84]in a classroom when their teacher [02:53.12]leaves for a few minutes? [02:55.41]When the cat's away, [02:57.06]the mice will play [02:59.20]means people sometimes misbehave [03:02.38]when there is no supervision. [03:05.07]You may have heard this expression: [03:09.00]curiosity killed the cat. [03:12.29]This means being too concerned [03:16.23]about things that are not [03:18.37]your business might cause problems. [03:21.35]If your home is very small, [03:25.38]you might say [03:27.38]there is not enough room [03:29.77]to swing a cat. [03:31.31]But you probably [03:33.70]should not try this at home! [03:36.29]If you ever had cats as pets, [03:40.67]you know it is difficult [03:43.16]to train them or to get them [03:45.95]to do something. [03:47.24]Cats are not like sheep [03:49.98]or cows that can be moved in a group. [03:53.36]So we say a difficult [03:56.10]or impossible job [03:57.94]is like herding cats. [04:00.63]We leave you with a song [04:03.26]from the musical play, "Cats." [04:06.60](MUSIC) [04:40.41]This VOA Special English program [04:43.69]WORDS AND THEIR STORIES [04:45.78]was written by Shelley Gollust. [04:48.32]I'm Faith Lapidus.