Monday 15th August 2005

Word origins

posted at 7.07pm

Let 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.

As you know, I love meanings to phrases and often-used sayings, and WordOrigins.org has hundreds of word meanings just like this one.

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