If a stage actor forgets his lines, a horribly rude audience might boo him off the stage. We often refer to these boos as “Cat calls.”
Ever wonder where the phrase comes from?
Okay, me neither. But here’s the story anyway:
The expression goes all the way back to Shakespeare’s day. When a Shakespearean play failed to delight, entertain, or even mildly amuse an audience – they would make noises that sounded like a “fenceful of cats.”
Hence: Catcalls.
