catch a stray

English

Etymology

catch (“to be hit by”) + a + stray (“stray bullet”)

Verb

catch a stray (third-person singular simple present catches a stray, present participle catching a stray, simple past and past participle caught a stray)

1. (slang) To be unexpectedly and casually insulted in a seemingly unrelated discussion or argument.
   • 2020 December 18, @MXCKdotCom, Twitter‎^[1], archived from the original on 2022-03-26:

     Jayda goes at it with Teanna Trump and Lil Baby catches a stray.

   • 2021 June 2, @thoughtfulbae, Twitter‎^[2], archived from the original on 2021-09-07:

     Nobody in the history of hip hop catch more strays than Tito Jackson.

   • 2021 December 5, @WhatDJTweets, Twitter‎^[3], archived from the original on 2023-07-24:

     nigga caught a stray in his own restaurant 😂😂😂😭😭😭

   • 2022 January 7, @Jussdin_, Twitter‎^[4], archived from the original on 2023-07-24:

     Dominican niggas catching so many strays omg. fuck em tho

   • 2023 March 21, @iramadisonthree, Twitter‎^[5]:

     The way 1D caught a stray here???

   • 2023 May 6, @RexChapman, Twitter‎^[6], archived from the original on 2023-05-13:

     Florida catching strays from abroad...

   • 2023 May 8, @janedcw, Twitter‎^[7], archived from the original on 2023-05-13:

     Dad caught a crazy stray

References

• “Catching Strays (Slang)”, in Know Your Meme, website first launched 2007
• “Catching strays”, in Urban Dictionary, launched 1999.