alley cat

noun

1. a homeless, usually mongrel, cat that scavenges for food in alleys, streets, etc.

alley cat

noun

1. a homeless cat that roams in back streets

Word History and Origins

Origin of alley cat¹

First recorded in 1900–05

Idioms and Phrases

A promiscuous woman; also, a person of loose morals. For example, She's constantly picking up men in bars—a real alley cat. This idiom transfers a stray cat that frequents alleys in search of food to a woman of easy virtue, especially a prostitute seeking customers. [Slang; early 1900s]

Example Sentences

“I’ll be a French maid when I meet you at the door / I’m like an alley cat — drink the milk up, I want more.”

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I used all kinds of lounge lizards, alley cats, and I made a substitute father figure in Papa Croc, who was this Don King character.

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“I would favor a license for cats, which would greatly diminish the number of unfed alley cats that must hunt for their living,” she once said.

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Both of the men were rolling up their sleeves, huffing and posturing like a pair of alley cats.

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And although he has his own sleeping space in a spare room, the former alley cat of late seems to have discovered that bedding down with humans clearly has its charms.

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