This wasn’t the first time Jonathan Swift used the particular words for precipitating pets. In 1710—30 years before Ingenious Conversation—he wrote a poem named A Description of a City Shower with the following ending lines:
In 1653, a similar, older phrase was written in a work called The City Witt by English playwright Richard Brome:
And one more interesting reference comes from Norse mythology. Cats and dogs were taken to sea and on Viking raids because of myths, as pets, and as beasts of burden, but cats specifically were thought to have influence over storms. There are multiple versions of the myths and superstitions from the Viking era and into the medieval times. In some explanation, cats had great influence over storms or weather in general while dogs were a signal in wind. In a similar explanation, cats were symbols of torrential rains and the dog attendants of the Storm God Odin were gusts of wind. In yet another Norse Pantheon-related description, witches who transformed into cats rode upon the storm to follow Odin and his dog. These dogs, in this case, could refer to Geri and Freki in the Poetic Edda, but the theories are as wild and loose as the storms they describe.
They may be thrown or fall from tornadoes in an unlucky twister, but the same goes for humans. That would be closer to hail than rain.
A few older explanations for the phrase exist, such as the thatched roof theory. Thatch is a type of padding or cover made woven and bound straw, reeds, palm, or similar plant materials. Long ago when most homes had thatched roofs–, cats and dogs would hide inside the thatch during storms. During heavy rain, the animals would be washed out of the thatch, and the falling could be considered “raining” as a joke that became a popular phrase.
Origin: The first time this phrase appeared in print was in Jonathan Swifts A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation in 1738, in which he wrote, “I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs”. The phrases source before this time remains a mystery, despite the many theories that have been put forward to explain its origin.
Example: I dont want to rain on your parade, but our boss just asked us to work late today.
Example: I think Ill stay home today. Its raining cats and dogs and I dont want to drive.
5. “Rain on ones parade.” If someone rains on your parade, they are ruining your plans.
6. “Steal someones thunder.” To steal someones thunder means youre taking attention from them on their special day.
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Learn / Teach English Idioms: It’s raining cats and dogs!
If youre unfamiliar with the raining cats and dogs idiom, hearing or reading that phase must seem quite shocking. Fortunately, its not terminology thats meant to be taken literally. Discover how to interpret “raining cats and dogs” meaning and learn about the possible origins of this very unusual-sounding figure of speech.
The phrase raining cats and dogs means that it is raining very hard. It is an idiom used to indicate that there is a torrential rainstorm going on. One would use this expression when it is raining very hard and heavily over an extended period of time.
The origin of the expression “raining cats and dogs” is unknown. There are a few ideas about where the “raining cats and dogs” idiom came from, but no one knows for sure. Like many common expressions, this figurative phrase has been around for centuries. Thoughts on the origin of this phrase are speculative in nature.
While its impossible to know which, if any, of the above musings on the origin of the “raining cats and dogs” meaning might actually be true, its certainly fun and interesting to speculate. Advertisement Advertisement