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A catnap, is a brief period of rest or sleep to rejuvinate the body.
"Cat nap"
We use this phrase today to refer to a short nap, the idea coming from the fact that cats appear to sleep most of the day, but generally not for long periods of time. The phrase actually originates from thieves’ cant, and referred to a practice of feigning sleep to allay suspicion. The practice was generally down on stagecoaches: the thief would pretend to fall asleep, which would cause the target to feel it was safe to do so as well. Once the target was actually asleep, the thief would remove whatever items of value he desired from the target and then get off the coach at the next stop. By the time the target awoke to find he had been robbed, the thief was generally long gone. The practice got its name from the action of cats, which occasionally pretend sleep to lure out prey.
"Cat nap"
We use this phrase today to refer to a short nap, the idea coming from the fact that cats appear to sleep most of the day, but generally not for long periods of time. The phrase actually originates from thieves’ cant, and referred to a practice of feigning sleep to allay suspicion. The practice was generally down on stagecoaches: the thief would pretend to fall asleep, which would cause the target to feel it was safe to do so as well. Once the target was actually asleep, the thief would remove whatever items of value he desired from the target and then get off the coach at the next stop. By the time the target awoke to find he had been robbed, the thief was generally long gone. The practice got its name from the action of cats, which occasionally pretend sleep to lure out prey.
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Cats are more graceful than dogs when it comes to napping.
Just look at this video...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LzMAXqu8qU