ðə tˈaɪɾəl ʌvðə bˈʊk kˈʌmz fɹʌm wˈʌn ʌvðə mˈɛni ɛkskjˈuːsᵻz ðæt mˈɑːɹsi ˈɔfɚz tə hɜː dʒˈɪm tˈiːtʃɚ, nˈeɪmd ˌɛmˈɛs. ʃmˈɪt, bˌʌt ʃiː kˈɔːld hɜː dʒˈʌst ʃmˈɪt, sˈʌtʃ ɐz "ðə kˈæt ˈeɪt maɪ dʒˈɪmsuːt" tə ɡɛt ˌaʊɾəv fˈɪzɪkəl ˌɛdʒuːkˈeɪʃən klˈæsᵻz.
The title of the book comes from one of the many excuses that Marcy offers to her gym teacher, named Ms. Schmidt, but she called her just Schmidt, such as "the cat ate my gymsuit" to get out of physical education classes.