Cat and Fiddle
Preserved but no longer current.
Several fanciful derivations have been found for this inn sign. There can be little doubt that it comes from the nursery rhyme, with a possible reference to the once popular game of tip-cat or trap-ball, and the fiddle for a dance that were provided as attractions for customers. It is worth men- tioning that the Dunciad (i, 224) refers in contempt to Gibber as "the Bear and Fiddle of the town.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Cat and Fiddle” mean?
Several fanciful derivations have been found for this inn sign. There can be little doubt that it comes from the nursery rhyme, with a possible reference to the once popular game of tip-cat or trap-ball, and the fiddle for a dance that were provided as attractions for customers. It is worth men- tioning that the Dunciad (i, 224) refers in contempt to Gibber as "the Bear and Fiddle of the town.
Is “Cat and Fiddle” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.