Cat (a): dreadful, no good, awful, very bad. Or for a more emphatic version, Cat melodeon (Sounds like 'melojen')
Bernard Share’s Slanguage quotes Victoria White in the Irish Times calling cat melodeon “the greatest expression in Hiberno-English.” Not sure about that but it is fun to hear and use.
How is it used?
I have most often heard it as a yelp of protest: That film was cat/melodeon!/Cat altogether!'
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The Cat Melodeon players |
Where does Cat Melodeon come from?
In his book on Irish traditional music Ciaran Carson suggests it derives from the tendency of the piano-accordion players (who often refer to their instruments as melodeons) to play two notes at once. SourceHow is it used?
I have most often heard it as a yelp of protest: That film was cat/melodeon!/Cat altogether!'
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