Hagrid continuous to talk about his adventures
in the land of the giants and tells them that some of the giants had been
hiding in a cave. Ron inquires whether there has been enough space for all of
them. Thereupon Hagrid answers: “‘Wasn’t room to swing a Kneazle,’”[1]
The
muggle proverb ‘no room to swing a cat’ is the blueprint for this wizarding
proverb. The first time it has been used was in Medela Pestilentiae by Richard Kephale in 1665 where he wrote: “They
had no space enough (according to the vulgar saying) to swing a Cat in.”[2]
This shows that the phrase has already been used for some time to describe tiny rooms. Swinging a cat
was, thus, meant literally.
Cats
play an important role in the wizarding world. They have, however, been
replaced by Kneazles which are magical creatures looking like cats apart from their
outsized ears and bushy tails. Their supernatural powers are described in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them:
“The Kneazle has an uncanny ability to detect unsavoury or suspicious
characters and can be relied upon to guide its owner safely home if they are
lost.”[3]
Compared to cats a Kneazle would probably sense the malevolent intentions of
the person who is planning to swing it and could escape shortly before. Due to
their similar size it makes, however, no difference whether a cat or a Kneazle
is swung. The room is still too small to do so.
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