Word origins
posted at 7.07pmLet the Cat Out of the Bag
This phrase meaning to disclose a secret is from an old scam of selling someone a suckling pig at market and then surreptitiously substituting a cat for the pig. If one lets the cat out of the bag, then the secret is revealed and the fraud discovered. The scam dates to at least 1530, but the phrase doesn’t make its appearance until 1760.
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