Recently I logged into a computer catalog with the username "catfull," which, I assumed, was short for "full catalog."

But to me it sounded like "catful." You know, somewhere in between a "handful" and a "truckload."

Usage suggestions:
- Can you pick up some basmati rice? We've only got half a catful left.
- I've cut back on coffee — just a catful in the morning.
- It's all the same; 6 of one, 2 catfuls of the other.*

The question begging to be asked is this: How much exactly is a catful? Enough, perhaps, to feed a live cat? But that's hardly more than a handful. I'm afraid the gruesome conclusion must be that a catful is the amount of a particular substance needed to stuff a dead cat.

Can't swing a dead cat without hitting a catful . . .

*The common American saying is, of course, "six of one, half dozen of the other." But do you know what Czechs say? I do: "It's 8, or 10 minus 2."