verb (colloquial).—To understand; to grasp in meaning; to apprehend; to attach or fix oneself to; to quickly seize an opportunity and turn it to advantage. [A literal translation, in fact, into the language of slang of the Latin apprehendere.] A French equivalent is piger, but for synonyms, see TWIG.
1884. Lisbon (Dakota) Star, 27 June. Now is the time to CATCH ON in order to keep up with the procession. [M.]
1889. The Nation, 19 Dec., p. 499, col. 1. … The farmer knows only the traffic of his market town and his county, and he is slow to CATCH ON to the new and progressive.
1890. Globe, Feb. 13, p. 1, col. 5. Well, assuming that the notion were to CATCH ON, and the example of this enterprising mother to be generally imitated in the upper orbits of the social system, would there be a balance of advantage to the nation?
