Sir, – Noel Leahy (September 11th) should be aware that the feline metric for measuring small spaces is attested as far back as 1665. Author Richard Kephale cites it as a known colloquialism, unconnected to naval discipline, in his Medela Pestilentiae. Our first reference to a whip called the “cat o’ nine tails” does not appear for another 30 years, in William Congreve’s play Love for Love. It is therefore entirely possible that the phrase is meant to be taken literally.
Good news for Ms Creighton’s grasp of English; bad news for cats. – Yours, etc,
