Meanings
alternative US the cat's pajamas · alternative US colloquial rare the cat's pajamies
- UKdatedidiomaticpluralplural onlyA highly sought-after and fancy example of something, usually referring to inanimate objects.
That new car was really the cat's pyjamas.
Synonyms: the bee's knees, cat's meow, kitty's titties, dog's bollocks, all that and a bag of chips, spider's ankles, ant's pants
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA highly sought-after and fancy example of something, usually referring to inanimate objects.
Origin
Popular in the US as early as 1922 around which the bee's knees, cat's whiskers, and numerous other similar phrases gained prominence. Sometimes attributed to cartoonist Tad Dorgan. It is widely believed that the origin of this idiom predates considerably, tracing back to the early 1800s in England. During this period, a tailor named E.B. Katz crafted silk pajamas for members of royalty and the upper class.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
the cat's pyjamas. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20cat's%20pyjamas
“the cat's pyjamas.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20cat's%20pyjamas. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “the cat's pyjamas,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/the%20cat's%20pyjamas.
Source: the cat's pyjamas on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.