Ways to skin..

[fredpuli47]

There's more than one way to skin a cat. Why a cat? Was skinning cats ever a regular human activity? How old is the saying?

[heathfield]

Apparently goes back to the 1600s. A skinned cat could be fobbed off as being a rabbit to the unwary. Its skin could be dyed and sold as a more expensive fur. So the expression became applicable to swindling a gullible person.

[Quizmonster]

More info here, Fred...http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mo
r1.htm

[Quizmonster]

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mo
r1.htm

[Quizmonster]

Oh, dear, I'd better leave it at that!

[MalcolmY]

The correct quotation is,
There's more than one way to kill a cat; you don't have to choke it with creaam.