I'm still here, 3 pm Japan time ;)
I take the 'Rats & Cats' almost like a term of endearment, as Constantine was saying. And it trips off the tongue (and keyboard) more easily than "Solomani and Aslan". That's the reason I use it, and also because shortening it to S&A makes me feel like I'm using a designator for some kind of sexual orientation. V&V and H&I I have no problems with.
>From: "" <>
>Consty--
>> Are you sure you're not reading too much into it, Dave? ;)
>That is ALWAYS a possibility! :-)
>And maybe derogatory isn't the best word, but that's the way it always
>felt. "Clods and Demiclods" for "Gods and Demigods," "Greyschlock" for
>"Greyhawk," etc.
I guess there's a range of emotions being expressed there, and not being of the D&D crowd at any time I wouldn't hazard a guess - they certainly aren't shorthand for the books concerned.
Eamon