# Top Cat or kids these days **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 11, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369 "2012-09-11T02:32:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/1 "2012-09-11T02:32:45Z")
I was listening to the Top cat theme song, and I realized, that it’s a damn kids show, yet the lyrics are full of multi-syllable words. I dont think the kids now-a-days would understand. Maybe if we put “fuck” in place of every syllable in a 3+ syllable word? \*Top Cat! The most effectual Top Cat! Who’s intellectual close friends get to call him T.C. Providing it’s with dignity. Top Cat! The indisputable leader of the gang. He’s the boss, he’s a pip, he’s the championship. He’s the most tip top, Top Cat. \* \*\*1961. \*\* ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/2 "2012-09-11T02:38:20Z")
My 10yo had no problem with it _and_ she caught the mistake with “it’s” in your quote. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/3 "2012-09-11T02:42:28Z")
Heh…I took this picture just last week: [Top Cat Comic April 1962](https://picasaweb.google.com/109588081293702443159/AlamedaPoint9212#5786186019616247746) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/4 "2012-09-11T02:51:25Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > My 10yo had no problem with it _and_ she caught the mistake with “it’s” in your quote. You mean “who’s,” don’t you? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/5 "2012-09-11T02:53:24Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > _He’s the boss, he’s a pip, he’s the championship._ I always thought he was a _VIP_. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/6 "2012-09-11T03:17:02Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > You mean “who’s,” don’t you? :dubious: “Providing it’s with dignity” We read the “it” as referring to Top Cat, but yeah, I can see that “it” refers to “calling him TC”. Regardless, I don’t understand the swipe at kids, nor the bizarre assertion that they need F-bombs every 3 words. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/7 "2012-09-11T03:20:50Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > You mean “who’s,” don’t you? :dubious: > [@JohnT](#): > > “Providing it’s with dignity” > > We read the “it” as referring to Top Cat, but yeah, I can see that “it” refers to “calling him TC”. Correct. But “who’s” in the quote should actually be “whose”… ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/8 "2012-09-11T03:36:52Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I was listening to the Top cat theme song, and I realized, that it’s a damn kids show Is it? I wasn’t familiar with it (it was before my time), so I had to look it up, and according to Wikipedia, it originally aired in prime time (Wednesdays 8:30-9pm Eastern). Not that that proves anything, but still… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/9 "2012-09-11T03:44:09Z")
“Top Cat” was a cartoon version of “Sgt Bilko,” aka “You’ll Never Get Rich.” Like many cartoons at that time, was written to play to all levels, from very young children to adults. (“The Flintstones” was another HB series aired in prime time.) I was in first grade then and had no problem understanding either the language or the humor. I can still watch it today and enjoy every minute. (Admittedly, I never got the “pro-vid-ing it’s with dignity” lyrics until I saw them printed out. This was due more to the vocalization than to the words themselves.) ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/10 "2012-09-11T16:59:21Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > Correct. But “who’s” in the quote should actually be “whose”… No, I don’t think so. I think it’s an abbreviation of “who is” and not “belonging to whom.” The lyrics say that it is Top Cat who is intellectual, not that he has intellectual close friends. At least, that’s how I parse it. There should, however, be a full stop after “intellectual.” \*Top Cat, the most effectual. Top Cat, who’s intellectual. Close friends get to call him T.C. Providing it’s with dignity. \* ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/11 "2012-09-11T17:06:40Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > No, I don’t think so. I think it’s an abbreviation of “who is” and not “belonging to whom.” The lyrics say that it is Top Cat who is intellectual, not that he has intellectual close friends. At least, that’s how I parse it. > > There should, however, be a full stop after “intellectual.” > \*Top Cat, the most effectual. > Top Cat, who’s intellectual. > Close friends get to call him T.C. > Providing it’s with dignity. \* I think you’re misreading it. It goes _Top Cat, whose intellectual close friends get to call him TC, providing it’s with dignity._ In other words, it’s his close friends who are “intellectual,” though they most certainly weren’t.\* (IRONY!) I don’t think there should be either a period or a comma after _effectual_ either. That’s how I’ve always understood it. \*Not even Brain. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/12 "2012-09-11T17:44:52Z")
But that doesn’t make sense. Why would it describe his friends as intellectual when they aren’t? Calling T.C. himself intellectual makes a certain amount of sense. He’s not exactly highly educated, but he does have a certain amount of cunning. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/13 "2012-09-11T17:54:49Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > But that doesn’t make sense. Why would it describe his friends as intellectual when they aren’t? > > Calling T.C. himself intellectual makes a certain amount of sense. He’s not exactly highly educated, but he does have a certain amount of cunning. They all had street smarts, but again I think “intellectual” was used in a somewhat ironic sense. They were _alley cats_, f’rchissakes! ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/14 "2012-09-11T18:27:53Z")
I always thought he was a wit and a number one hit. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/15 "2012-09-11T19:03:25Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “Top Cat” was a cartoon version of “Sgt Bilko,” aka “You’ll Never Get Rich.” Like many cartoons at that time, was written to play to all levels, from very young children to adults. (“The Flintstones” was another HB series aired in prime time.) And Benny the Ball, the short blue cat in Top Cat, was played by Maurice Gosfield, who played the short, slobby, and slow-witted Pvt. Doberman on “Bilko”. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/16 "2012-09-11T20:17:51Z")
I always thought it was “_he’s_ intellectual”. Top Cat! The most effectual Top Cat! He’s intellectual! Close friends get to call him T.C. etc ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/17 "2012-09-11T20:32:56Z")
Who was Top Cat himself supposed to sound like? I always thought it was Tony Curtis. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/18 "2012-09-11T21:26:42Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > Who was Top Cat himself supposed to sound like? I always thought it was Tony Curtis. Top Cat was based on Sgt. Ernie Bilko, played by Phil Silvers. He was of course played by Arnold Stang, who was a popular actor in comedies and also appeared in “Hercules in New York,” starring an Austrian bodybuilder who was known as Arnold Strong. Strong later became a superstar under his real name, Arnold Schwarzenegger. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/19 "2012-09-11T21:34:39Z")
It wasn’t a GREAT impression of Silvers, but definitely meant to be him. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369/20 "2012-09-11T21:36:47Z")
A theme song with multi-syllabic words does not mean the show is ‘smart.’ I’m certain a kid today could follow a _Top Cat_ episode, but would complain about the animation. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-cat-or-kids-these-days/634369.md?page=2)