1/21/2024 0 Comments Cradle thief meaning![]() It is frequently used when there has been neglect of one person by another. Today, the phrase “Cat’s in the cradle” is used to describe situations in which a relationship has been fractured. How to use the phrase “Cat’s in the cradle” ![]() In the song “Cat’s in the cradle,” Chapin is making a point about the perils of neglect, and what happens when a parent is not there to put their child to bed and read them stories.Įven if the child is not likely to be smothered by an actual cat, a parent’s neglect can cause the relationship between parent and child to be metaphorically smothered. It has since been shown that any deaths thought to have been caused by evil, breath-sucking cats, were likely cause by Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). In 1921, a doctor in Nebraska witnessed “the family pet in the act of sucking a child’s breath.” This story contributed to the myth’s spreading. The case involved the death of a baby in its cradle, and the jury found that the cause of death was suffocation by a cat. This odd and morbid urban legend seems to have its roots in a real-life case that took place in Plymouth, England in 1791. This is of course the case with the father and son in Chapin’s song.īut there is even more than this to the phrase “Cat’s in the cradle.”Ĭhapin was likely also referencing the old wives’ tale that, if babies are neglected, cats climb into their cradles and kill them by sucking their breath away. There must be mutual trust and a mutual give-and-take, otherwise the cradle cannot hold up. If there is no trust, the “cradle” will collapse. It involves give-and-take between two people and mutual trust. The game cat’s cradle involves creating a “cradle” of sorts out of string using one’s fingers, and then passing it to another person. However, “Cat’s in the cradle” might also be referring to the popular string game played by children, known as cat’s cradle. The implication here would be that these are stories the father in the song was too busy to read to his son. If fairy tales are your thing, please also have a look at our article on “ Fee Fi Fo Fum.” Many people believe the “Cat’s in the cradle” refers to the Dutch fairytale “The Cat and the Cradle.” “The Man in the Moon” and “Little Boy Blue” are both nursery rhymes. ![]() The lyric is, “The cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon/ little boy blue and the man in the moon.” The chorus of Chapin’s 1974 song reels of a series of children’s songs. To understand why it is that someone might say, “the cat’s in the cradle with my mom and my sister” to mean that their mother and sister do not speak to each other, we need to dig a little deeper.įirst and foremost, we have to examine why Harry Chapin used this expression the way he did. However, it may still seem like a somewhat nonsensical expression to most of us. It is all well and good to know what the idiomatic phrase “Cat’s in the cradle” means and to know how to use it in a sentence. The origins of the phrase “Cat’s in the cradle” The phrase “Cat’s in the cradle” is often used to refer to situations in which one person has neglected another, or there is a total breakdown of communication. If someone says that the “cat’s in the cradle” with two people, they mean that something is disrupting their relationship. What is the meaning of the expression “Cat’s in the cradle”? The song is about a father’s neglect for his son and is now often seen as a reference to broken commitments and the dangers of parental absence. The implication that the boy’s father could never find the time to read them to him. The song’s chorus references a series of children’s stories. The song is about a father and son’s broken relationship, and is popularly interpreted as a warning against not investing enough time in one’s family. The phrase “Cat’s in the cradle” is most popularly used in reference to Harry Chapin’s 1974 song of the same name.
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