A: How do you like this sofa? It looks nice and it’s a bargain.

    B: Get a sofa in our living room? There is no room to swing a cat in there.

    Note: If there is not room to swing a cat in a place, that place is very small. Whether the “cat” was a real moggy or the flail-like whip used to punish sailors in the British navy isn’t clear. Many reports claim that the cat in question is the “cat o’nine tails.” The cat o’ nine tails, commonly shortened to the cat, is a type of multi-tailed whip that originated as an implement for severe physical punishment, notably in the Royal Navy and Army of the United Kingdom, and also as a judicial punishment in Britain and some other countries. The phrase dates from at least the 17th century.