Sir, – Patrick O’Byrne’s letter (September 8th) seems to confirm the thought I first had upon reading Lucinda Creighton’s article regarding the proposed property tax (Home News, September 4th). It would seem that neither knows the origin of the phrase “to swing a cat”, or at least what I was taught was the correct interpretation when I attended school, admittedly some good while ago.
The phrase comes from the naval punishment of flogging by use of a whip which, in addition to the nine separate lashes attached to the handle, had knots on these lashes so as to further increase the pain of the punishment.
In this case perhaps, even less space is required than either of your correspondents envisaged. Whatever the British thought of their sailors, I cannot believe that their pets were treated in the same manner. – Yours, etc,