Kit-Cat Club

Kit-Cat Club
/kit"kat'/
a 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.
[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, var. of TIPCAT; see KIT3, CAT1)]

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Association of early 18th-century Whig leaders that met in London.

Members included the writers Richard Steele, Joseph Addison, and William Congreve and such political figures as Robert Walpole and the duke of Marlborough. They first met in the tavern of Christopher Cat, whose mutton pies were called kit-cats. Portraits of the 42 members were painted by Godfrey Kneller (1646–1723), and the specific size of the canvas (36 × 28 in. [91 × 71 cm]) used for the portraits became known as a kit-cat.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Kit-Cat Club — /kit kat / a 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. Also, Kit… …   Useful english dictionary

  • Kit-Cat Club — The Kit Cat Club (sometimes Kit Kat Club) was an early 18th century English club in London with strong political and literary associations, committed to the furtherance of Whig objectives, meeting at the Trumpet tavern in London, and at Water… …   Wikipedia

  • Kit-Cat, club — Asociación de líderes whig de principios del s. XVIII que se reunían en Londres. Entre sus miembros se contaban los escritores Richard Steele, Joseph Addison y William Congreve y figuras políticas como Robert Walpole y el duque de Marlborough. Al …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Kit-Kat Club — /kit kat /. See Kit Cat Club. * * * …   Universalium

  • Kit-Kat Club — /kit kat /. See Kit Cat Club …   Useful english dictionary

  • kit-cat — club founded by Whig politicians in London, 1703; so called from Christopher ( Kit ) Catling, keeper of the tavern on Shire Lane, near Temple Bar, in which the club first met. Meaning a size of portrait less than half length (1754), supposedly is …   Etymology dictionary

  • kit-cat — /kit kat /, n. any of a series of half length portraits of members of the Kit Cat Club that were painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller between 1702 and 1717, measure almost uniformly 28 × 36 in. (71 × 91 cm), characteristically portray the head, upper… …   Universalium

  • kit-cat — n. (in full kit cat portrait) a portrait of less than half length, but including one hand; usu. 36 x 28 in. Etymology: named after a series of portraits of the members of the Kit Cat Club, an early 18th c. Whig society …   Useful english dictionary

  • kit-cat — noun a canvas of a standard size (typically 36 × 28 in., 91.5 × 71 cm), especially as used for a portrait showing the sitter s head, shoulders, and hands. Origin C18: named after portraits of members of the Kit Cat Club, an association of Whigs… …   English new terms dictionary

  • Kit Kat Club — KitKatClub Berlin Der KitKatClub in Berlin ist ein Techno Club, der für ungewöhnliche sexuelle Freizügigkeit bekannt ist. Die Türpolitik des Clubs gilt als sehr streng. Der Dresscode ist laut Eigenaussage „geschlechtsbewusst“; Fetisch Kostüme und …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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