WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
Kit′-Cat Club′
(kit′kat′),USA pronunciation
- World Historya club of Whig wits, painters, politicians, and men of letters, including Robert Walpole, John Vanbrugh, William Congreve, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, and Godfrey Kneller, that flourished in London between 1703 and 1720.
- see kit3, cat1) from Kit (as short for Christopher) Cat(ling), alleged to be the keeper of a pie-house where the club met (with play on kit-cat, variant of
tipcat
'Kit-Cat Club' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):