there's more than one way to skin a cat
Language: English
Part of speech: proverb
Forms: form: there are many ways to skin a cat
Etymology: Origin unknown. Other proverbs with the same meaning referencing the killing of animals are also attested, some as early as the 17th century; see, for example, “there are more ways to kill a dog than hanging” (1678), “there is more than one way to kill a cat” (1833), and “more ways of killing a cat than choking her with cream” (1855).
Senses: examples: text: At any rate, thought I, there's more than one way to skin a cat, as a butcher would say.
ref: 1835 November 11, the New York Transcript, quotee, “Eccentricities of a Mad Man”, in Benj[amin] Kingsbury, Jr., editor, Zion’s Herald, volume VI, number 45, Boston, Mass.: Boston Wesleyan Association, →OCLC, page 180, column 2:
text: This is a money digging world of ours; and, as it is said, "there are more ways than one to skin a cat," so are there more ways than one of digging for money. But, in some mode or other, this seems to be the universal occupation of the sons of Adam.
ref: [1854, Seba Smith, “The Money-diggers and Old Nick”, in ’Way Down East; or, Portraitures of Yankee Life, New York, N.Y.: J[ames] C[ephas] Derby, […]; Boston, Mass.: Phillips, Sampson & Co. […], →OCLC, page 169:
text: But then the Church came to the front, with an axe to grind; and she was wise, subtle, and knew more than one way to skin a cat—or a nation; […]
ref: 1889, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], “The Boss”, in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, New York, N.Y.: Charles L. Webster & Company, →OCLC, page 100:
text: Relator was, undoubtedly, at this point reminded of the old saying: "There is more than one way to skin a cat"; because he was saying the same thing in different terminology and tied it in with his original statement by saying "as I stated".
ref: 1947 December 8, “Ex Parte Joe Fisher, Relator: Respondent’s Answer to Relator’s Motion for Rehearing”, in Joe J. Fisher, Petitioner, vs. R. C. Pace, Sheriff of Jasper County, Texas: Transcript of Record (Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 1948; no. 45), Washington, D.C.: Judd & Detweiler, […], folio 90, page 65:
text: Nissan has elected to concentrate its European operations in Sunderland, including battery development, precisely because Boris Johnson has brought forward the phase-out date for petrol and diesel vehicles to 2030. […] However, there is more than one way to skin a cat, and cheaper options for ultra-low emitting vehicles are just around the corner.
ref: 2021 January 25, Robin Russell-Jones, “Electric cars are not the only green solution”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Mar 2022:
synonyms: word: all roads lead to Rome
word: there's more than one way to cook an egg
word: there's more than one way to crack an egg
word: there's more than one way to peel an orange
word: there's more than one way to feed a cat
word: there's more than one way to fuck a cat
glosses: A problem generally has more than one solution; there is more than one way to achieve a goal.
wikipedia: Michael Quinion
Related terms: english: has a somewhat opposite meaning
translation: has a somewhat opposite meaning
word: if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail
word: TMTOWTDI