Who's she, the cat's mother?

Who's she, the cat's mother?

A reprimand given to someone for using a pronoun ("she") instead of a proper name. A: "Oh, and she was there too." B: "Who's she, the cat's mother?"
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Who's she, the cat's mother?

People say Who's she, the cat's mother? to show that they think it is rude when someone refers to a girl or woman as `she' instead of using their name. `Is she coming?' — `Who's she, the cat's mother?'
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

who's she—the cat's mother?

1 used as a mild reproof, especially to a child, for impolite use of the pronoun she when a person's name would have been more well mannered. 2 expressing the speaker's belief that a woman or girl has a high opinion of herself or is putting on airs. British informal
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
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References in periodicals archive ?
There was one in particular she (which, no doubt, had she still been around and read this, would have declared: who's SHE, the cat's mother?) would use at bath-time when I was a little lad about scrubbing behind your ears.
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Researchers found "It'll end in tears" and "Who's she, the cat's mother?" the most common answers to annoying questions.
8 out of 10 UK mothers resort to the same old sayings!
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