Disturbing Colbert rerun last night.

Last night, Comedy Central reran the episode in which SC announces his presidential run. There was one part where he made a reference to "swinging a dead" cat, and then showed a picture of a sweet dead kitty.

I'm a true cat lover, so....:cry:

not sure the etymology. . .

There are two theories about "not enough room to swing a cat," neither of them very cheerful. One is that the phrase refers to the "cat o'nine tails," a nine-thonged whip used in the days of square-rigged ships to discipline unruly sailors. This "cat" got its name from the fact that the welts it left on a sailor's back looked like enormous cat scratches. Most such whippings took place on the open deck, both as an example to the rest of the crew and because in the cramped quarters below decks there was "not enough room to swing a cat."

This is possibly combined wtih the "dead cat bounce"

An automatic recovery in a financial market. Supposedly unsaleable commodities often find a market after a sharp price fall as buyers look for bargains. The idea being that even a dead cat will bounce if you drop it from a great height.

it takes less room to swing a dead cat than a live one because the live one is usually objecting rather vociferously to being swung.

This phrase is also cognate with "not enough room to whip a cat."

It may also be etymologically useful to note that in former centuries "cat" applied generally to a much larger range of species, not just one's little fuzzy fluffball. In centuries past, there was a higher population in the wild of such things as pumas, cougars, mountain lions, wildcats, bobcats, lynx, panthers and the like.

It's all a very southern phraseology, I do believe, as it crops up in my own speech from time to time.

Of course he should have said "This is just an expression. Kids, don't try this at home." to avoid any confusion.