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Kilkenny cat

Noun CEFR B2

Definitions

A tenacious fighter.

Examples

Yet for my father the war was a source of considerable inner conflict; much as he detested Nazism he was psychologically incapable of desiring a British victory. (Very likely his secret wish was that Germany and Britain should do a Kilkenny cat act.”
Even pirate crews and bands of robbers prefer a peaceful settled understanding as to the division of their plunder to the Kilkenny cat plan.”
“In the words of a member of the Press Gallery in 1967: 'Here we have 630 men and women, friendlyexcept for normal human antipathies – in private, and fighting like Kilkenny cats in public.'”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
See all B2 English words →

See also

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