cat v.1
1. (also go catting) to search for a sexual partner.
![]() | Adventures of Johnny Newcome I 30: Here many a Fish-fag sat and stunk, And Sailor rolled, and catted Punk — But Muse, avast! — pray shift the scene, If thou would’st keep thy fingers clean! | |
![]() | DN II:i 26: cat, v. i. To go with bad women. | ‘College Words and Phrases’ in|
![]() | (con. 1917) Mattock 123: One night I was cattin’ down Clark Street. | |
![]() | No More Trumpets 302: That would give you a little time to cat around and enjoy your freedom some, huh-huh-huh. | |
![]() | Roofs of Paris (1983) 180: Jean isn’t the only one who’s catting for a fuck. | |
![]() | Battle Cry (1964) 210: Bastard forgets the night he was catting around in Dago. | |
![]() | Mainside 125: Bachelor. He cats around a good deal. He’s been sleeping with Mrs. Howland. | |
![]() | 5000 Adult Sex Words and Phrases. | |
![]() | Serial 98: I think he’s out catting around. | |
![]() | Yeager 12: I was fifteen [...] catting around with three or four different gals. |
2. to be sexually unfaithful.
![]() | (con. c.1910) Big Jim Turner 89: Last winter she had wound up there, after a year of catting around and leaving her brats on Aunt Sue Hurd’s hands. | |
![]() | Deadly Streets (1983) 35: Cherry had been making too many catting motions around Checker recently. | ‘I’ll Bet You a Death’ in|
![]() | in | Old Glory 379: ‘Been catting around?’ ‘No, she weren’t catting around.’.
3. to wander purposelessly about.
![]() | AS II 386/2: From cat comes the activity of catting around, that is, moving from place to place. | |
![]() | ‘Sl. among Nebraska Negroes’ in AS XIII:4 Dec. 317/1: Some verbal usages among Nebraska Negroes are to [...] jive around, to cat around. They are used with a rather indefinite meaning, perhaps ‘to fool around.’. | |
![]() | Duke 155: We only been catting around, but we’re all on fire. | |
![]() | Run, Chico, Run (1959) 17: ‘The trim’s not bad. Let’s pull a midnight review.’ ‘Cut it,’ Thomas ordered. ‘We ain’t got no time to cat around.’. | |
![]() | Shake Him Till He Rattles (1964) 54: We were out cattin’ around most of the night. | |
![]() | Manchild in the Promised Land (1969) 183: Catting was staying away from home all night .... Guys catted when they were afraid to go home .... They slept everywhere but in comfortable places. | |
![]() | AS L:1/2 57: cat around vi Loaf, wander, or drive around without any particular purpose. | ‘Razorback Sl.’ in
4. (US black) to ask questions.
![]() | Duke 149: They started catting around trying to find out what was wrong. |