ST Alpha - "I've always wondered about that, Merriam-Webster was no help" (Reading a Post)

SlickerTalk
Search Archives
The Leaderboard
The FAQ

Down to Post

Backboards:

Posts: 157

In response to "Sorry, Mop, didn't see your post re Michael Lewis's book -- (link*)" by mara

I've always wondered about that, Merriam-Webster was no help

Posted by crash davis (aka crash davis) Nov 13 '22, 09:02

In the catbird seat was among the numerous folksy expressions that legendary baseball broadcaster Red Barber used to delight listeners. Some say he invented the expression; others say that he dug it up from his Southern origins. But the truth may be far stranger than those rumors. In a 1942 short story titled "The Catbird Seat," James Thurber featured a character, Mrs. Barrows, who liked to use the phrase. Another character, Joey Hart, explained that Mrs. Barrows must have picked up the expression from Red Barber. To Red, according to Joey, sitting in the catbird seat meant 'sitting pretty,' like a batter with three balls and no strikes on him. But, according to Barber's daughter, it was only after Barber read Thurber's story that he started using "in the catbird seat" himself.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catbird%20seat (www.merriam-webster.com)

Responses:

inception -- nm - rollo Nov 13, 09:15 2
- It really is, isn't it? -- nm - crash davis Nov 13, 09:22 1
  - If it's true, that's a tremendous anecdote -- nm - rollo Nov 13, 09:35

Post a message top

I've always wondered about that, Merriam-Webster was no help

Replies are disabled on threads older than 7 days.