Idioms

Katie, bar the door

Katie, bar the door

A call to ready oneself for imminent danger. Katie, bar the door—trouble's coming!
See also: bar, door
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Katie bar the door

Prepare immediately for an advancing threat. Katie bar the door, the grandchildren are here and they all look hungry.
See also: bar, door, Katie
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

Katie, bar the door!

"Watch out—there's trouble coming!” King James I, who was set upon in 1437 by unhappy Scots, took refuge in a room whose door had no bar lock. One Catherine Douglas tried to keep the door closed with her arm, but the mob broke through and murdered the king. That the king might have shouted, “Catherine, bar the door,” is not too very different from the once-popular phrase. That the expression was brought to America by Anglo-Scottish settlers is equally likely, and for genera- tions rural folk would acknowledge a difficult situation with a shake of the head and “Katy, bar the door.”
See also: bar
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price
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References in periodicals archive
Either the law's health insurance exchanges "can't cut it,'' he explained, or "it's Katie, bar the door -- we have an explosively growing new program.''
Targeting an entitlement early on
Now, if we hear comments coming out of the new administration that they want to do things to the gun industry, it's 'Katie, bar the door.' If they don't, then maybe things will settle down and we'll look at a good, solid year."
Industry wary about new administration, Congress
"Once he decides to do something, Katie, bar the door," said Rick Duncan, a commercial real estate appraiser, who was Brown's business partner for 18 years.
The go-between: Broker takes on options challenge
Use it to make ice cream and give away free samples, and it's "Katie, bar the door!"
One cool display: engine-cranked ice cream a hit at antique engine shows
One thing is clear: The current "Katie, bar the door" reaction in the West is no answer.
The seekers
They close their eyes and remember Jack Smith's signature words: "Touchdown, Murdock!" "Katie, bar the door" and "It's Devil-Mania!"
The voice of Murdock football lives on
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