- pussyfoot
- also pussy-foot, 1903 (v.) "tread softly;" 1914 (n.), "a detective," from pussy (n.1) + foot (n.). In the U.S. after 1919, it acquired strong associations with Prohibition by being the nickname of Oklahoma prohibition agent W.E. Johnson (1862-1945). Related: Pussyfooting; pussy-footed (1893).