What is the origin of the cat is out of the bag?

What is the origin of the cat is out of the bag?

One suggestion is that the phrase refers to the whip-like “cat o’nine tails”, an instrument of punishment once used on Royal Navy vessels. The instrument was purportedly stored in a red sack, and a sailor who revealed the transgressions of another would be “letting the cat out of the bag”.

What does Stanley mean when he says the cat’s out of the bag?

It’s no secret that “to let the cat out of the bag” is a popular English colloquialism that means to reveal something that wasn’t meant to be revealed, usually unintentionally.

What is let the cat out of the bag an example of?

‘Let the cat out of the bag’ means accidentally revealing information that you weren’t supposed to reveal. Example of use: “Tim let the cat out of the bag about my surprise birthday party.”

Where does the phrase over the moon come from?

The origin of this expression comes from a well-known 16th century nursery rhyme called ‘Hey Diddle Diddle’ (originally written as ‘High Diddle Diddle’) The rhyme itself is apparently nonsense and has no meaning, but it goes like this… “Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, The cow jumped over the moon.

Where did half in the bag come from?

This a guess. When one buys liquor, the clerk usually puts it one of those little bags. And if a person is wanting to be discrete while taking a drink in public, he leaves the bag on. In West Virginia, liquor used to only be sold in “state stores,” also called “bag stores.”

What do Stanley’s words to Stella suggest about their relationship?

o Stanley’s words to Stella on page 133 suggest that he is nostalgic for their previous relationship and for “[t]hem nights we had together” and feels that Blanche’s arrival has disrupted that relationship.

What does it mean when you say curiosity killed the cat?

phrase. You say ‘ Curiosity killed the cat’ in order to tell someone that they should not try to find out about something which does not concern them.

What is the meaning of cat in a bag?

A ruse, swindle, or suspicious transaction. This is also the basis for the phrase “the cat’s out of the bag” (and iterations thereof), meaning the swindle or secret has been exposed. …

What does tie one on mean?

Become intoxicated; go on a drinking spree. For example, They went out and really tied one on. The precise allusion here—what it is one ties on—is unclear. [ Slang; mid-1900s]

What does being in the bag mean?

phrase. If you say that something is in the bag, you mean that you are certain that you will get it or achieve it. [informal] ‘I’ll get the Republican nomination,’ he assured me. ‘It’s in the bag.

Where does the term ‘let the cat out of the bag’ come from?

The Origin Of ‘Let The Cat Out Of The Bag’ Where does this idiom come from? The origin of the phrase let the cat out of the bag is not certain; however, there are theories about how it originated: One theory has to do with merchants who were looking to make some coin by selling piglets.

What does out of the bag mean in a sentence?

The cat was well and truly out of the bag. The biggest scandal for years was about to overtake the government. Note: This expression may have its origin in an old trick where one person pretended to sell a piglet in a bag to another, although the bag really contained a cat. If the cat was let out of the bag, then the trick would be exposed.

Where does the phrase never go back into the bag come from?

Much like a cat that was once trapped in a bag, once that secret is out, it’s never going to go back into that bag again. The first recorded use of this phrase comes from a book review in a 1760 edition of London Magazine (which is still published today).

What does it mean to buy a cat in a bag?

For one thing, per Phrases.org, both the Dutch and German versions of this phrase translate to “to buy a cat in a bag,” which alludes a little more directly to a deceitful purchase. And the Spanish translation means “to give a cat for a hare,” suggesting (somewhat more plausibly) that it would be rabbits, not pigs,