Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary

Touch Not The Cat

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

TOUCH NOT THE CAT (R4x32) 4C set John Drewry Greenburn Book 1
3s and 4s start on opposite sides

1- 8 1s+2s also 3s+4s dance RH across, 2s+3s dance ½ R&L
9-16 All dance RSh reels of 4 on sides
17-24 1L+3L also 2L+4L cross passing partner LSh and dance down/up side to change places, 1M+3M also 2M+4M cross passing partner RSh and dance down/up side to change places. 2413
25-32 All circle 8H round and back

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)


Dance Information

The motto of the Clan MacPherson is "Touch not the cat bot a glove".

'Bot' means without. The 'glove' of a wildcat is the pad. If the cat is 'ungloved', its claws are unsheathed. The motto serves as a warning that one should beware when the wildcat's claws are 'without a glove'.

It is a reference to the historically violent nature of the clan and serves as a metaphorical warning to other clans that they should think twice before interfering with MacPherson business.

Touch Not This Cat
Touch Not This Cat


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Text from this original Clan MacPherson article on Wikipedia.
Image copyright Clément Bardot, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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