The phrase “the cat’s pajamas” Where did it come from and why? You could try putting a cat in pajamas if you wanted to be scratched to death, but mostly it isn’t worth the effort. The phrase means “the best new thing,” and it originated in the early 1920s. It’s believed to be one of many nonsense phrases that followed a popular formula at the time: take an animal and an unlikely body part or article of clothing, mix them together, and see what you get. This time period also gave us “the bee’s knees,” “the clam’s garters,” and “the pig’s wings,” among others.
“The cat’s pajamas” was a phrase that was commonly used by flappers—themselves sometimes called “cats,” a derogatory term not to be confused with men of the same period being called “cats,” which meant “cool.” At the time, pajamas were a relatively new sleepwear item and still considered somewhat risqué, which might have appealed to the flappers—known for their unconventional choices of apparel—which could have been the reason they chose that particular item of clothing.
