Cheshire Cat
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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| + | "This ambivalent withdrawal is both terrifying and laughable, like [[Lichtenberg's knife]], the dissolving smile of the [[Cheshire Cat]], the lingering judgement of an [[absent God]] or the [[rendezvous with Death in Samarkand]]."--''[[Jean Baudrillard: Fatal Theories]]'' (2008) by David B. Clarke, Marcus Doel, William Merrin | ||
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| + | "'Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin,' thought Alice; 'but [[Cheshire Cat|a grin without a cat]]! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!'"--''[[Alice's Adventures in Wonderland]]'' (1865) by Lewis Carroll | ||
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| "'Please would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly, for she was not quite sure whether it was good manners for her to speak first, 'why your cat grins like that?' | "'Please would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly, for she was not quite sure whether it was good manners for her to speak first, 'why your cat grins like that?' | ||
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"This ambivalent withdrawal is both terrifying and laughable, like Lichtenberg's knife, the dissolving smile of the Cheshire Cat, the lingering judgement of an absent God or the rendezvous with Death in Samarkand."--Jean Baudrillard: Fatal Theories (2008) by David B. Clarke, Marcus Doel, William Merrin "'Well! I've often seen a cat without a grin,' thought Alice; 'but a grin without a cat! It's the most curious thing I ever saw in my life!'"--Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll "'Please would you tell me,' said Alice, a little timidly, for she was not quite sure whether it was good manners for her to speak first, 'why your cat grins like that?' 'It's a Cheshire cat,' said the Duchess, 'and that's why. Pig!' She said the last word with such sudden violence that Alice quite jumped; but she saw in another moment that it was addressed to the baby, and not to her, so she took courage, and went on again:-- 'I didn't know that Cheshire cats always grinned; in fact, I didn't know that cats COULD grin.' 'They all can,' said the Duchess; 'and most of 'em do.' 'I don't know of any that do,' Alice said very politely, feeling quite pleased to have got into a conversation. 'You don't know much,' said the Duchess; 'and that's a fact.'" --Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) by Lewis Carroll |
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The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat popularised by Lewis Carroll in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and known for its distinctive mischievous grin. While now most often used in Alice-related contexts, the association of a "Cheshire cat" with grinning predates the 1865 book. It has transcended the context of literature and become enmeshed in popular culture, appearing in various forms of media, from political cartoons to television, as well as in cross-disciplinary studies, from business to science. One distinguishing feature of the Alice-style Cheshire Cat involves a periodic gradual disappearance of its body, leaving only one last visible trace: its iconic grin.
Origins
The first known appearance of the expression in literature is in the 18th century, in Francis Grose's A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Second, Corrected and Enlarged Edition (1788), which contains the following entry:
- Cheshire cat. He grins like a Cheshire cat; said of any one who shows his teeth and gums in laughing.
The phrase appears again in print in John Wolcot's pseudonymous Peter Pindar's Pair of Lyric Epistles (1792):
- "Lo, like a Cheshire cat our court will grin."
The phrase also appears in print in William Makepeace Thackeray's novel The Newcomes (1855):
- "That woman grins like a Cheshire cat."
There are numerous theories about the origin of the phrase "grinning like a Cheshire Cat" in English history. A possible origin of the phrase is one favoured by the people of Cheshire, a county in England which boasts numerous dairy farms; hence the cats grin because of the abundance of milk and cream.
