Mrs. Figg's 'Cat among the Pixies'

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 93534

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, RhianynTheCat at a... wrote:
> In a message dated 3/20/04 9:13:11 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
> lizvega2 at y... writes:
 
 
> Tis an American expression too, as in "the cat's amongst the 
canaries now".  
> Akin to "the cat's out of the bag" but with rather more liklihood 
of chaotic 
> consequences.

Geoff:
"That's put the cat among the pigeons" and "that's let the cat out of 
the bag" do not carry the same connotation in UK english.

The latter implies that something which was secret and should not 
have been revealed has been released. The former implies that 
something controversial has been said or done which will probably 
spark off disagreement and argument or some other strong reaction.

(Posters who make a point of follow my ramblings may have noticed 
that, at the end of a long posting last week, I said "that's put the 
feline among the avians" which was my own joking interpretation of 
the same phrase).

Mrs.Figg's "pixies" and "spilt potions" are merely Wizarding World 
variants of pigeons and spilt milk.