1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, He re-gurgled. “But this is terrible.†“Might be considerably better, I agree.†“Your uncle will be most upset.†“He'll have kittens.†“Kittens?†“That's right.†“Why kittens?†“Why not?†From the look on Bobbie's face, as she stood listening to our cross-talk act, I could see that the inner gist was passing over her head. Cryptic, she seemed to be registering it as.