Nekojita etymology

[Wasabi]

Does anyone know how "cat tongue" - nekojita - comes to mean a dislike of
hot food? Apart from in 'nekoita' (fireside board) the neko kanji doesn't
otherwise seem to be used in words about heat.

[Ben Bullock]

I had assumed it was because cats don't like hot food. However, I do not
know whether cats like hot food or not.



--
sci.lang.japan FAQ/language tools: http://www.sljfaq.org/afaq/

[Tsukino Usagi]

On 02/05/2012 11:25 AM, Ben Bullock wrote:
> On Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:02:09 +0000, Wasabi wrote:
>
>> Does anyone know how "cat tongue" - nekojita - comes to mean a dislike
>> of hot food? Apart from in 'nekoita' (fireside board) the neko kanji
>> doesn't otherwise seem to be used in words about heat.
>
> I had assumed it was because cats don't like hot food. However, I do not
> know whether cats like hot food or not.

Just a wild guess, because cats like milk, and milk is associated with
babies and soft, tasteless food.

[Don Kirkman]

On Sun, 5 Feb 2012 02:25:35 +0000 (UTC), Ben Bullock
<benkasmi...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:02:09 +0000, Wasabi wrote:
>
>> Does anyone know how "cat tongue" - nekojita - comes to mean a dislike
>> of hot food? Apart from in 'nekoita' (fireside board) the neko kanji
>> doesn't otherwise seem to be used in words about heat.
>
>I had assumed it was because cats don't like hot food. However, I do not
>know whether cats like hot food or not.

FWIW, my old Kenkyusha has a long list of neko-naninani entries, few
of them having anything to do with cats but all using the neko kanji.
My uneducated suspicion is that most are ateji for some ancient word
or phrase used in a lot of idioms.
--
Don Kirkman
don...@charter.net

[Adele Fletcher]

On Feb 6, 5:43 am, Don Kirkman <dons...@charter.net> wrote:
> On Sun, 5 Feb 2012 02:25:35 +0000 (UTC), Ben Bullock
>

> <benkasminbull...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >On Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:02:09 +0000, Wasabi wrote:
>
> >> Does anyone know how "cat tongue" - nekojita - comes to mean a dislike
> >> of hot food? Apart from in 'nekoita' (fireside board) the neko kanji
> >> doesn't otherwise seem to be used in words about heat.
>
> >I had assumed it was because cats don't like hot food. However, I do not
> >know whether cats like hot food or not.
>
> FWIW, my old Kenkyusha has a long list of neko-naninani entries, few
> of them having anything to do with cats but all using the neko kanji.
> My uneducated suspicion is that most are ateji for some ancient word
> or phrase used in a lot of idioms.
> --
> Don Kirkman

> dons...@charter.net

According to my Japanese dictionary (in Casio EX-Word Dataplus 4)the
phrase derives from the idea that cats dislike hot　(熱い) food.

In my experience cats will bat hot food (stolen fries etc) around on
the floor until it cools.

Adele Fletcher

[Bart Mathias]

On Tue, 7 Feb 2012 14:36:40 -0800 (PST)
afaf....@gmail.com wrote:

> According to my Japanese dictionary (in Casio EX-Word Dataplus 4)the phrase derives from the idea that cats dislike hot　(熱い) food.
>
> In my experience cats will bat hot food (stolen fries etc) around on the floor until it cools.

That must be true. Adele Fletcher agrees with you word for word!
[ :-) ]
--
Bart Mathias <mat...@hawaii.edu>

[Adele Fletcher]

On Feb 10, 12:50 pm, Bart Mathias <math...@hawaii.edu> wrote:
> On Tue, 7 Feb 2012 14:36:40 -0800 (PST)
>

> afaf.use...@gmail.com wrote:
> > According to my Japanese dictionary (in Casio EX-Word Dataplus 4)the phrase derives from the idea that cats dislike hot　(熱い) food.
>
> > In my experience cats will bat hot food (stolen fries etc) around on the floor until it cools.
>
> That must be true. Adele Fletcher agrees with you word for word!
> [  :-)  ]
> --

> Bart Mathias <math...@hawaii.edu>

Yes, and both of me are having trouble with our group and email
settings :-)

Adele