Ok, so I know that I’ve been rather infrequent, at best, with my random little musings recently. A thousand apologies to anyone who actually cares. Lately, however, on this road of life I feel like I’ve been careening from one place to another. Maybe it’s the excessive workload I’ve been dealt. Maybe it’s the unbelievable collapse of the Bulls. Maybe it’s something that you, oh reader, have done. (Just kidding.) For some reason, lately, I just haven’t been my usual exuberant, whimsical self. I’m sure it’ll turn around.
I was thinking about “secrets” a bit today and the phrase came to mind how when a secret is found out how some refer to it as “letting the cat out of the bag.”
What does “letting the cat out of the bag” have to do with revealing a secret?
Letting the cat out of the bag…
Think about it for a bit. Are you having the same realization that I had? Apparently at some point in time people kept cats in bags for some reason, and it’s safe to assume that the cats were not too pleased with their captivity and became riled up. At some point, those cats had to be let out of the bag.
It’s pretty easy to imagine what happened when those cats when the realized their newfound freedom. I’m sure that they bit, scratched, and clawed at whatever they could find when they got out, wreaking much havoc.
And someone (a brilliant someone, no doubt) recognized this and turned “letting the cat out of the bag” into an allegory for the revelation of a secret, no doubt a secret that had some consequences at the time.
Of course, doing a little bit of research I find that the origin of the phrase is likely linked to older times at the market. Apparently, one trick that sellers in the market used was to put a cat into a bag and sell it off to buyers under the impression that they were getting a pig. Smart consumers would always open the bag to ensure that they were getting what they were paying for. It was all an attempt to defraud the buyer, as cats were not nearly as valuable as pigs. (Mmm…bacon.)
Personally, I like my explanation better.
All this to say, I love the English language. You should too. It’s really quite hilarious when you think about it, and that’s no secret.
Have a great weekend!
Much luv,
Rob
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Song of the Day: “With A Little Help From My Friends” by Joe Cocker (Wonder Years Theme)
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2 comments:
Meow!
honestly, i think your option is better than the historical reference. it sounds rather made up. are we to believe people from generations ago could only tell the different between a pig in a bag and a cat in a bag once it was opened? and these people evolved to eventually invent the roomba AND cars able to output more than 1000 horsepower. i think not.
F3
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