English

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Noun

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tear-cat (plural tear-cats)

  1. (obsolete, acting) An overactor.
    • 1606, John Day, The Isle of Gulls, in White, Thomas, editor, The Old English Drama[1], volume 4, published 1830, Induction, page 15:
      Fie upon't, mere fustian; I had rather hear two good bawdy jests then a whole play of such tear-cat thunder-claps.
    • 1611, Thomas Middleton, Thomas Dekker, The Roaring Girl[2], act 5, scene 1:
      I am cal'd by those that have seen my valour, Tear-Cat.

Synonyms

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References

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  • Mackay, Charles (1884) New Light on Some Obscure Words and Phrases in the Works of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries[3], Tear Cat, page 63:This odd epithet was applied in the seventeenth century to violent and ranting actors who overdid their parts.

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