catˈfish noun

1. A fish with catlike whiskers near its mouth
2. The wolffish

cat'flap noun

A small door set in a larger door to allow a cat entry and exit

catˈgut noun

1. A kind of cord made from the intestines of sheep and other animals used for violin strings, surgical ligatures, etc
2. The violin or other stringed instrument (old or facetious)
3. A coarse corded cloth

catˈ-hammed adjective

With thin hams like a cat's

catˈhead noun (nautical)

1. One of two strong beams projecting from the bow of a ship through which passes the tackle by which the anchor is raised
2. A spider tool, a lathe accessory consisting of a turned sleeve with four or more radial screws at each end (engineering)

catˈhole noun (nautical)

One of two holes in the after part of a ship through which hawsers may pass for steadying the ship or for heaving astern

catˈhouse noun

1. A brothel (esp N Am sl)
2. A place where cats are cared for

catˈ-lap noun

Any thin or unappetizing drink

cat litter noun

A granular absorbent material used to line a tray, on which a domestic cat may urinate and defecate indoors

catˈmint, catˈnep or catˈnip noun

A mint-like labiate plant (Nepeta cataria) attractive to cats

catˈnap noun

A brief sleep, esp without lying down

cat o’ mountain see catamountain above.

cat-o'-nineˈ-tails noun

A whip with nine knotted tails or lashes, once used in the army and navy

cat'sˈ-brains noun (archaic)

A geological formation of sandstone veined with chalk

cat's-craˈdle noun

1. A pastime in which a string looped about the fingers and passed from player to player is transformed from one symmetrical pattern to another
2. An impenetrably intricate set of regulations, instructions, etc

cat'sˈ-ear noun

Any plant of the European genus Hypochoeris of the family Compositae, having yellow dandelion-like flowers

cat'sˈ-eye noun

1. A name for various chatoyant minerals that resemble a cat's eye when polished, esp a greenish-yellow variety of chrysoberyl
2. (Cat's-eye®) a small reflector set in a frame fixed in a road surface to indicate traffic lanes

cat'sˈ-foot noun

1. A European plant (Antennaria dioica) of the family Compositae, having woolly leaves and white flowers (also called mountain-everlasting)
2. Ground ivy

catˈ-silver noun

A variety of silvery mica

catˈskin noun

cat'sˈ-meat noun

1. Horse's flesh, or the like, sold for cats
2. Any rather unappetizing food

cat'sˈ-paw noun

1. A person who is used by another (from the fable of the monkey who used the paws of the cat to draw chestnuts out of the fire)
2. A hitch in a rope providing two loops for a hook
3. A light breeze forming ripples on the water's surface (nautical)

cat'sˈ-tail noun

1. A catkin
2. Timothy-grass
3. The reed-mace or bulrush

catˈsuit noun

A type of one-piece trouser suit

cat's-whiskˈer noun (radio)

A delicate wire brought into contact with a crystal to rectify the current in some forms of crystal detector and produce audibility

catˈwalk noun

A narrow footway, eg on a bridge, above the stage in a theatre, or for the models in a fashion show

catˈ-witted adjective

Small-minded, conceited and spiteful

catˈworks noun (mining)

The assemblage of motors and catheads providing power for secondary activities on drilling platforms, eg pipe-hoisting

catˈworm noun

A polychaete worm (Nephthys hombergi) frequently used as a fishing bait (also called white worm)

bell the cat see under bell¹

big cats see the big cats below.

care killed the (or a) cat

Worry killed the cat, even with its proverbial nine lives

catted and fished

(of an anchor) raised to the cathead and secured to the ship's side

Cheshire cat /cheshˈər or cheshˈēr/

A cat renowned for grinning, like the Cheshire cat in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

enough to make a cat laugh

Ie even the least inclined

in the catbird seat (N American)

In an advantageous position

Kilkenny cats

Proverbial cats who fight until each destroys the other

let the cat out of the bag

To disclose a secret

like a cat on hot bricks or on a hot tin roof (informal)

1. Uneasy, restive
2. Very nervous

like something the cat brought in or dragged in

Bedraggled, slovenly in dress, scruffy, etc

like the cat that's got the cream

Extremely smug or pleased with oneself

not have a cat in hell's chance (informal)

To have no chance at all

play cat-and-mouse with

To deal with in a cat-and-mouse way

put (or set) the cat among the pigeons

To stir up a great deal of trouble

rain cats and dogs (informal)

To rain very heavily

room to swing a cat

A minimum of space

see which way the cat jumps

To see how things are going to turn out before committing oneself (also wait for the cat to jump)

the big cats

Lions, tigers, leopards, etc

the cat's got your tongue

You seem unexpectedly reluctant to speak

the cat's pyjamas or the cat's whiskers (informal)

1. The very thing that is wanted, the ideal thing
2. Anyone or anything considered to be the best or greatest

turn (the) cat in (the) pan

To change sides with dexterity

wait for the cat to jump see see which way the cat jumps above.

whip the cat see under whip

wolf /wŭlf/

noun (pl wolves /wŭlvz/)

1. The common name of certain predatory species of the genus Canis that hunt in packs, including the common wolf (Canis lupus), the grey or timber wolf, and the coyote
2. Anything symbolically seen as a cruelly rapacious or ravenous creature
3. A greedy and cunning person
4. A tuberculous excrescence or cancerous growth (obsolete)
5. A dissonance heard in a keyed instrument tuned by unequal temperament (music)
6. An extraneous non-harmonic note made by the bow on a string of a violin, etc (music)
7. A man who insatiably pursues and seduces women (informal)

intransitive verb

(also wolve /wŭlv/) to hunt for wolves

transitive verb (often with down or up; informal)

To devour ravenously

wolfˈer or wolvˈer noun

A hunter of wolves

wolfˈing or wolvˈing noun

The hunting of wolves for their skins

wolfˈish or wolvˈish adjective

1. Like a wolf
2. Rapacious
3. Ravenous

wolfˈishly or wolvˈishly adverb

wolfˈkin and wolfˈling noun

A young wolf

wolfˈlike adjective

wolfˈberry noun

1. A N American shrub (Symphoricarpus occidentalis) of the honeysuckle family, with white berries, hairy leaves and pink flowers
2. Another name for goji

wolf cub noun

1. A young wolf
2. (with caps) a member of the former Wolf Cubs (now Cub Scouts), a junior division of the Scout Association

wolf dog noun

1. A dog of a large breed formerly used in hunting wolves and guarding sheep from attack by wolves
2. (wolfˈ-dog) a cross between a wolf and a domestic dog

wolfˈfish noun

(also sea-wolf and catfish) any genus of fierce and voracious salt-water fishes

wolfˈhound noun

Any of several breeds of large domestic dog, such as the Irish wolfhound, formerly used to hunt wolves

wolf note noun (music)

A wolf

wolf pack noun

1. A pack of wolves
2. A flotilla of submarines or group of aircraft sent out to attack enemy targets

wolfsˈbane or wolf's bane noun

An aconite, esp Aconitum lycoctonum

wolf's foot or wolf's claw noun

The club moss (genus Lycopodium)

wolfˈskin noun

The skin or pelt of a wolf

wolf's peach noun

The tomato

wolf spider noun

Any spider of the Lycosa genus, to which the true tarantula belongs, or of the family Lycosidae

wolf tooth noun

A small supernumerary premolar in a horse

wolf whistle noun

A two-note whistle uttered as a coarse expression of admiration, typically by a man at the sight of a woman

wolfˈ-whistle transitive verb and intransitive verb

cry wolf

To give a false alarm, from the story of the boy who cried ‘Wolf’ when there was none, and was not believed when there was one

have (or hold) a wolf by the ears

To be in a desperately difficult situation

have a wolf in the stomach

To be ravenously hungry

keep the wolf from the door

To keep away poverty or hunger

see a wolf

To be tongue-tied (in allusion to an old superstition)

throw or fling to the wolves

To abandon to certain destruction

wolf in sheep's clothing

Someone who behind a kindly and inoffensive exterior is dangerous and unscrupulous