This catchy expression was coined in 1920 by San Francisco-born cartoonist Tad Dorgan, who also graced our lexicon with other equally corny but (thankfully) less durable sayings such as "the flea's eyebrows" and — a real clunker — "the canary's tusks." (Interestingly, Dorgan is credited with coining more popular American words and expressions than anyone else.)

"The cat's pajamas" is just one of a string of phrases from the 1920s used to describe someone or something outstanding or remarkable, usually indicating stylishness or innovation. In this case, pajamas were a relatively new fashion item in the 1920s and "cat" was frequently used to describe the outgoing and unconventional jazz-age flappers.

Similar "hep" expressions of the times included: the duck's quack, the bee's knees, the clam's garter, the elephant's wrist, the eel's ankle, the gnat's elbow, the elephant's arches (or instep), the sardine's whiskers, the bullfrog's beard, the cuckoo's chin, the leopard's stripes, the pig's wings, the snake's hips, and the tiger's spots.

I think it's high time we brought some of these zingers back into circulation... beginning with my personal favorite, "the bullfrog's beard."