tear-cat

== English == === Noun === tear-cat (plural tear-cats) (obsolete, acting) An overactor. ==== Synonyms ==== ham, hambone, hamfatter, overactor ==== Related terms ==== tear a cat === References === Mackay, Charles (1884), New Light on Some Obscure Words and Phrases in the Works of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries‎[3], Tear Cat, page 63: “This odd epithet was applied in the seventeenth century to violent and ranting actors who overdid their parts.” === Anagrams === tea cart, teacart