is a bear Catholic

alternative are bears Catholic · alternative is the bear Catholic

1. humorousidiomaticA rhetorical question in response to a question where the answer is an emphatic yes: duh!, obviously!, of course!

   "So, I tell Tim you want the tickets then?" / "Is the bear Catholic?" replied Torquil.

   1996, Linda Jaivin, Rock ’n’ Roll Babes from Outer Space, New York, N.Y.: Broadway Books, published 1998, →ISBN, page 138

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   [Wed, Nov 24] 10:00 pm – IS PARIS BURNING? Is the Bear Catholic? Does a pope shit in the woods?

   1971 November 18, “Space in: TV”, in Space City!, volume III, number 24, Houston, Tex.: Lyman Padde Educational Project, →OCLC, page 28, column 4

   Ginny: Do you want me? / Isaac: Yes. I want you very much. You don't need to ask that. / Ginny: You really want me? / Isaac: Is a bear Catholic? / Ginny: What are you talking about? / Isaac: It’s a variation on the old saw—here's the whole thing. Is a bear Catholic? Does the Pope shit in the woods?

   1977, Bill Hotchkiss, “Numunana Lives in the Inyo”, in Fever in the Earth, Newcastle, Calif.: Blue Oak Press, →ISBN, section III (January 1, 1975), page 234

   ludlow: “‘Rosebud’ in the third race at Pimlico.” (I’m so tired of Russian food, I could eat a horse.) / me: “This little piggy went to market.” (Before I left home, I went by the Piggly Wiggly supermarket and picked up a couple of cans of pork and beans for the trip. Want some?) / ludlow: “Is a bear Catholic?” (In the name of God, yes.)

   1989, Lewis Grizzard, “International Relations [The Russians Out in the Code]”, in Chili Dawgs Always Bark at Night, New York, N.Y.: Villard Books, →ISBN, page 168

   "Take on final supplies. Stock up. Top off the fuel tanks, the water tanks, and stock the food lockers—" / "And la cerveza [the beer] locker, sí, Juan?" Ireland laughed. / "Is a bear Catholic, Rámon? The cerveza locker? The cerveza locker? This ain't gonna be an easy trip, not easy, no, but we're going to be living good." John raised a beer and we touched cans.

   1993, Robert Mason, chapter 12, in Chickenhawk: Back in the World: Life After Vietnam, New York, N.Y.: Viking, →ISBN, part 2 (The Scam), page 106

   [‘]But we’re not interested in the money, just the menorah, right?’ / ‘Right.’ / ‘Why? Are you Jewish?’ / Jake grinned. / ‘Are bears Catholic? Does the Pope shit in the woods?’ / ‘Okay, okay! Sorry I asked. It’s just that what we're going to be doing from here on in is very high-risk.[’]

   2007, Michael Dibdin, End Games: The Last Aurelio Zen Novel, London: Faber and Faber, →ISBN, page 239

   Synonyms: does a bear crap in the woods, does a bear poop in the woods, does a bear shit in the woods, does the bear shit in the woods, does Dolly Parton sleep on her back