English · Idiom Historical

cat ice

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

Very thin, almost transparent ice from which the water that was underneath has receded; so slight as to be unable to bear a cat.

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.

Topics: Cats Snow & ice Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “cat ice” mean?

Very thin, almost transparent ice from which the water that was underneath has receded; so slight as to be unable to bear a cat.

Is “cat ice” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.

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