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Aug 8, 2009 · Idiomatic expression meaning that a secret has been revealed, usually unintentionally, similar to the expression "to spill the beans." Can also be expressed as "the cat is out of the bag."
There are two commonly heard suggested origins of this phrase. One relates to the fraud of substituting a cat for a piglet at markets. If you let the cat out of the bag you disclosed the trick – and avoided buying a pig in a poke (a poke is a type of bag). This form of trickery is long alluded to in the language and ‘pigs in a poke’ are ...
Dec 29, 2020 · The old cat and the sea. The first origin story claims the phrase refers to the cat o’ nine tails, a whipping device infamously used by the Royal Navy as an instrument of punishment aboard its ...
- Why Do We Say “Cat’s Out of The Bag”?
- The Medieval Scam Explanation
- The Nautical Punishment Explanation
Well, first, let’s consider the first recorded use of the phrase. In a 1760 book review in the London Magazine, the reviewer complained that he “wished that the author had not let the cat out of the bag,” presumably referring to some kind of plot point. But while the first recorded use of the phrase is pretty straightforward, its originis not. Unfo...
The most heavily cited explanation for why we say “let the cat out of the bag” dates back to the Middle Ages. As the story goes, shady livestock vendors in medieval marketplaces sought to swindle their buyers. When someone would purchase a pig, the vendor would sneak a cat into the bag instead, cheating the buyer out of the higher price for a pig. ...
There’s another theory about the origins of this expression, and it’s a good deal darker. This explanation claims that the “cat” the expression refers to is not a feline but the “cat o’ nine tails,” a whip made from nine intertwined cords that was used as a form of punishment in the British Royal Navy and in prisons until as late as the 1840s. It w...
Letting the cat out of the bag (also ...box) is a colloquialism that means to reveal facts previously hidden. It could refer to revealing a conspiracy (friendly or not) to its target, letting an outsider into an inner circle of knowledge (e.g., explaining an in-joke), or the revelation of a plot twist in a movie or play. It also means to reveal ...
Dec 1, 2019 · let the cat out of the bag. L. let the cat out of the bag. Meaning. to reveal a secret by mistake. to disclose a secret, typically by accident. to divulge previously hidden information. to unintentionally make a secret public. Example Sentences. I wanted to keep my job offer a secret, but my little brother overheard and let the cat out of the bag.
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Jul 29, 2022 · What does the term "let the cat out of the bag" actually mean? Learn about the origins of the phrase and why we use it here.
