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Money in the Kitty: Why do we say we put money in the kitty?
Posted on April 9, 2011 by Lior
sunglasses cat poster If you haven’t heard this phrase before, let me assure you we are not talking about sprinkling your cat’s food bowl with coins and dollar bills. “Putting money in the kitty” is a term often referring to putting money into a communal pot, where contributions from several people contribute towards the final sum. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word kitty was around the 1800s and referred to the pool of money that accumulates in poker games. Nowadays a kitty can have many purposes other than a poker kitty, and is commonly used to pool money to buy equipment for clubs, schools, charities and events. But why do we call this pot of money a kitty?
There are several theories:
Theory 1: Kitty referring to a “kit” container
Around the 1300s, the Middle Dutch word “kit” (also spelled kyt, kitt, or kitte) referred to a wooden tub, barrel, pail, jug or tankard. If tools were put into this container, it became a toolkit, and if medicinal tools were put into it, it became a medical kit, but if money was put into a small container, it was just known as a kit, kitte or a kitty. This theory seems to be a favourite amongst etymologists.
Theory 2: Kitty referring to prostitutes that collected poker money
Another theory suggested by Willard Epsy in his book “Thou Improper, Thou Uncommon Noun” is that the term kitty arose from its use in poker. Epsy proposes that “kitty” comes from the name Catherine which is sometimes nicknamed to Kitty. Poker playing was often done in environments where prostitutes were around, and a “Kitty” was a term often applied to one of these ladies. The story goes that the poker players would toss their coin bets into the laps of the nearby watching Kittys, and thus the term “kitty” arose to refer to the pool of money. As far as I’m aware, this theory isn’t particularly favoured amongst etymologists.
Theory 3: Kitty referring to a prison-like closed box of money
Kitty is an old slang-term for prison, and it could be that the term was transferred to mean a “pot of imprisoned money” because the money was not allowed to be removed until the kitty was full. The link between imprisonment of money and imprisonment of people seems like a bit of a stretch and is only a tentative explanation proposed by the Oxford Dictionary.
Theory 4: Kitty cat as cockney rhyming slang for a hat
Another theory that is sometimes touted around pubs is that kitty cat is a cockney rhyming slang for hat, and since money in poker games was often tossed into a hat, this became known as the “kitty”.
I can't remember if I've posted this one: flivver (car)
This was something that was used several times in Laura Ingalls Wilder's diary of her trip to San Francisco. She said someone was "on the beat". From what I could gather, it meant the person or persons were not reputable or professional or might have been con men. Anybody else have any idea where this comes from?
And I was just curious, how many people here know that "car" is just short for "carriage" as in "horseless carriage"?
Then there's this from 'Daddy Cool' by The Rays from 1957:
I saw a crazy chick a-running down the street
I said, a-whoo pretty baby, why the rigged beat?
She said, wow, what a square, don't you dig the scene?
Daddy Cool's playing his piano machine
I don't think my grandparents used this words, but maybe somebody's did. So what's a rigged beat and a piano machine?
Is "piano machine" a reference to a player piano? If not, then I haven't a clue...
And, speaking of player pianos, I can recall that older folks who didn't want to use the words "toilet paper" would sometimes refer to rolls of toilet paper as "piano rolls".
"party line" - when multiple homes were on one telephone line. If you could afford it you had a "private line".
"Information" - If you wanted a phone number look-up help you dialed "113" and the person answered "Information". This later became "411" AKA "Directory Assistance".
If you had an emergency you called the "operator". You dialed 0 and the person answered as "Operator". You also had to call the Operator to place a long distance call.
Directory Assistance is still with us but "Operator", 0, has been replaced by 911 and direct dialing.
"book satchel" - a bag with a shoulder strap that you carried your school books in.
"shorthand" - a method of writing in symbols and abbreviations that represented sounds and letter that enabled a skilled person to write entire words quickly.
dictaphone - voice recorder
duplicator & mimeograph - these machines became obsolete due to Xerox copiers
penny book - My dad used to use the phrase, "made you look, made you look, made you by a penny book" Back in the depression era there were children's books that could be purchased for a penny.
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