What is "bush cat"

Bush \Bush\ (b[.u]sh), n. [OE. bosch, busch, buysch, bosk, busk; akin to D. bosch, OHG. busc, G. busch, Icel. b[=u]skr, b[=u]ski, Dan. busk, Sw. buske, and also to LL. boscus, buscus, Pr. bosc, It. bosco, Sp. & Pg. bosque, F. bois, OF. bos. Whether the LL. or G. form is the original is uncertain; if the LL., it is perh. from the same source as E. box a case. Cf. Ambush, Boscage, Bouquet, Box a case.]

1. A thicket, or place abounding in trees or shrubs; a wild forest.

   Note: This was the original sense of the word, as in the Dutch bosch, a wood, and was so used by Chaucer. In this sense it is extensively used in the British colonies, especially at the Cape of Good Hope, and also in Australia and Canada; as, to live or settle in the bush.

2. A shrub; esp., a shrub with branches rising from or near the root; a thick shrub or a cluster of shrubs.

   To bind a bush of thorns among sweet-smelling flowers.
   --Gascoigne.

3. A shrub cut off, or a shrublike branch of a tree; as, bushes to support pea vines.

4. A shrub or branch, properly, a branch of ivy (as sacred to Bacchus), hung out at vintners' doors, or as a tavern sign; hence, a tavern sign, and symbolically, the tavern itself.

   If it be true that good wine needs no bush, 't is true that a good play needs no epilogue.
   --Shak.

5. (Hunting) The tail, or brush, of a fox.

   To beat about the bush, to approach anything in a round-about manner, instead of coming directly to it; -- a metaphor taken from hunting.

   Bush bean (Bot.), a variety of bean which is low and requires no support ( Phaseolus vulgaris, variety nanus). See Bean, 1.

   Bush buck, or Bush goat (Zo["o]l.), a beautiful South African antelope ( Tragelaphus sylvaticus); -- so called because found mainly in wooden localities. The name is also applied to other species.

   Bush cat (Zo["o]l.), the serval. See Serval.

   Bush chat (Zo["o]l.), a bird of the genus Pratincola, of the Thrush family.

   Bush dog. (Zo["o]l.) See Potto.

   Bush hammer. See Bushhammer in the Vocabulary.

   Bush harrow (Agric.) See under Harrow.

   Bush hog (Zo["o]l.), a South African wild hog ( Potamoch[oe]rus Africanus); -- called also bush pig, and water hog.

   Bush master (Zo["o]l.), a venomous snake ( Lachesis mutus) of Guinea; -- called also surucucu.

   Bush pea (Bot.), a variety of pea that needs to be bushed.

   Bush shrike (Zo["o]l.), a bird of the genus Thamnophilus, and allied genera; -- called also batarg. Many species inhabit tropical America.

   Bush tit (Zo["o]l.), a small bird of the genus Psaltriparus, allied to the titmouse. Psaltriparus minimus inhabits California.

cat \cat\ (k[a^]t), n. [AS. cat; akin to D. & Dan. kat, Sw. katt, Icel. k["o]ttr, G. katze, kater, Ir. cat, W. cath, Armor. kaz, LL. catus, Bisc. catua, NGr. ga`ta, ga`tos, Russ. & Pol. kot, Turk. kedi, Ar. qitt; of unknown origin. Cf. Kitten.]

1. (Zo["o]l.) Any animal belonging to the natural family Felidae, and in particular to the various species of the genera Felis, Panthera, and Lynx. The domestic cat is Felis domestica. The European wild cat ( Felis catus) is much larger than the domestic cat. In the United States the name wild cat is commonly applied to the bay lynx ( Lynx rufus). The larger felines, such as the lion, tiger, leopard, and cougar, are often referred to as cats, and sometimes as big cats. See Wild cat, and Tiger cat.

   Note: The domestic cat includes many varieties named from their place of origin or from some peculiarity; as, the Angora cat; the Maltese cat; the Manx cat; the Siamese cat.

   Laying aside their often rancorous debate over how best to preserve the Florida panther, state and federal wildlife officials, environmentalists, and independent scientists endorsed the proposal, and in 1995 the eight cats [female Texas cougars] were brought from Texas and released. . . . Uprooted from the arid hills of West Texas, three of the imports have died, but the remaining five adapted to swamp life and have each given birth to at least one litter of kittens.
   --Mark Derr (N. Y. Times, Nov. 2, 1999, Science Times p. F2).

   Note: The word cat is also used to designate other animals, from some fancied resemblance; as, civet cat, fisher cat, catbird, catfish shark, sea cat.

2. (Naut.)

   1. A strong vessel with a narrow stern, projecting quarters, and deep waist. It is employed in the coal and timber trade.

   2. A strong tackle used to draw an anchor up to the cathead of a ship.
      --Totten.

3. A double tripod (for holding a plate, etc.), having six feet, of which three rest on the ground, in whatever position it is placed.

4. An old game; specifically:

   1. The game of tipcat and the implement with which it is played. See Tipcat.

   2. A game of ball, called, according to the number of batters, one old cat, two old cat, etc.

5. same as cat o' nine tails; as, British sailors feared the cat.

6. A catamaran.

   Angora cat, blind cat, See under Angora, Blind.

   Black cat the fisher. See under Black.

   Cat and dog, like a cat and dog; quarrelsome; inharmonious. ``I am sure we have lived a cat and dog life of it.''
   --Coleridge.

   Cat block (Naut.), a heavy iron-strapped block with a large hook, part of the tackle used in drawing an anchor up to the cathead.

   Cat hook (Naut.), a strong hook attached to a cat block.

   Cat nap, a very short sleep. [Colloq.]

   Cat o' nine tails, an instrument of punishment consisting of nine pieces of knotted line or cord fastened to a handle; -- formerly used to flog offenders on the bare back.

   Cat's cradle, game played, esp. by children, with a string looped on the fingers so, as to resemble small cradle. The string is transferred from the fingers of one to those of another, at each transfer with a change of form. See Cratch, Cratch cradle.

   To bell the cat, to perform a very dangerous or very difficult task; -- taken metaphorically from a fable about a mouse who proposes to put a bell on a cat, so as to be able to hear the cat coming.

   To let the cat out of the bag, to tell a secret, carelessly or willfully. [Colloq.]

   Bush cat, the serval. See Serval.