Idiom: Cat and dog life

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi there.
Recently I found a very old English book which had lot of idioms n phrases.

I tried searching for “Cat and dog life” on internet but nowhere could find the results.

The book says:

Cat and dog life:
Usage: All these four years I had been living a cat and dog life with my wife

Please elaborate!

Regards,
Swapnil

2

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The definition appears in your post: a cat-and-dog-life (for in this case, the couple) is one in which the two people argue frequently-- they fight like cats and dogs.

3

Hi Mister,

There are lot of such idioms in the book with explanation/usage. However I couldnt find those on the web so was afraid if those in the book were wrong. The book was published in 1981 and seems that those idioms are nowhere used nowadays.

e.g.
To catch a tartar: To fight with a stronger enemy
In Vietnam the Americans caught a tartar.

Regards,
Swapnil.

4

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1981 is not that long ago, as idioms fare, Swapnil, but they may be regional, e.g. British slang. What is its title and where was it published?
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5

yeah true indeed. The title is “IDIOMS and PHRASES for all Occasions”. This was published in New Delhi, India <yr 1982>. My father is an english teacher and I found lot of such books in his bag.

6

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Thanks, Swapnil. I’ll keep my eye out for a copy.
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7

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Uh-oh. Bad luck at the start: the book title gets me no hits on Google.
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