Which Cat 'Folk Phrase' Relates To You?

This phrase is thousands of years old and originated in the kingdoms of the Middle East. When a person was caught stealing, the right hand and tongue were torn out and fed to the king's cats! Luckily, today it just means that you aren't speaking up.

This phrase, used to indicate that a secret or surprise has been exposed, originated in medieval markets. Piglets were sold in bags, so that carrying them home with all of your other purchased goods would be easier. Unscrupulous sellers subbed out the piglets for kittens, and if the buyer discovered it before paying, the cat was 'out of the bag.'

The original phrase is 'care killed the cat,' in which 'care' was defined as 'worry or sorrow.' In our day, we prize curiosity, but it used to be seen as a sin worthy of hell--pretty harsh! Today, people often use this phrase to keep people focused on a safe path or to tell them to mind their own business!

This phrase is used when something is thrown into a group of otherwise-peaceful people and stirs them up--kind of like when you're having a holiday dinner and Aunt Edna brings your grandpa's old mistress along as her guest. The phrase is British and comes from Colonial India, when, for entertainment, people would make bets and literally throw a cat into a pen of pigeons to see how many it could kill with one swipe of the paw.

A cat that stepped on a hot tin roof would likely pounce about until it could get away. This phrase, which is used when someone is jumpy, skittish, or dying to get away, was modified by Tennessee Williams in his famous play of the same name. The original phrase, 'cat on a hot bakestone,' goes back as far as the 1300s. The bakestone was a stone by the hearth, which oatcakes were baked on.

When an authority figure isn't around, people tend to do things they might not do otherwise--like chat it up all day if the boss is home sick. This phrase has been in use since at least the 1500s, when Shakespeare used the idea in the play 'Henry V.'