A slang phrase coined by Thomas A. Dorgan. The phrase became popular in
the U.S.
in the 1920s,[1] along with the bee's knees, the cat's whiskers (possibly from the use of
these in radio crystal sets). In the 1920s the word cat was used as a term to
describe the unconventional flappers from the jazz era. This was combined with
the word pyjamas (a relatively new fashion in the 1920s) to form a phrase used
to describe something that is the best at what it does, thus making it highly
sought and desirable.[2]
A report in the New York Times[3] of a publicity stunt by an
unknown woman in 1922, in which she paraded along 5th Avenue clad in yellow silk
pajamas and accompanied by four cats similarly dressed, may indicate the phrase
was already current by that date, as the "cat's meow" certainly was
the U.S.
in the 1920s,[1] along with the bee's knees, the cat's whiskers (possibly from the use of
these in radio crystal sets). In the 1920s the word cat was used as a term to
describe the unconventional flappers from the jazz era. This was combined with
the word pyjamas (a relatively new fashion in the 1920s) to form a phrase used
to describe something that is the best at what it does, thus making it highly
sought and desirable.[2]
A report in the New York Times[3] of a publicity stunt by an
unknown woman in 1922, in which she paraded along 5th Avenue clad in yellow silk
pajamas and accompanied by four cats similarly dressed, may indicate the phrase
was already current by that date, as the "cat's meow" certainly was