Raining cats and dogs

A 19th-century cartoon by English artist George Cruikshank illustrating the phrase "raining cats and dogs" (and "pitchforks")
Look up rain cats and dogs in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The English-language idiom "raining cats and dogs" or "raining dogs and cats" is used to describe particularly heavy rain. It is of unknown etymology and is not necessarily related to the raining animals phenomenon.[1] The phrase (with "polecats" instead of "cats") has been used at least since the 17th century.[2][3]

Etymology

A number of possible etymologies have been put forward to explain the phrase.[4]

One possible explanation involves the drainage systems on buildings in 17th-century Europe, which were poor and may have disgorged their contents, including the corpses of any animals that had accumulated in them, during heavy showers. This occurrence is described in Jonathan Swift's 1710 poem "Description of a City Shower":[5]

Drowned puppies, stinking sprats, all drenched in mud,
Dead cats and turnip-tops come tumbling down the flood.

Another explanation is that "cats and dogs" may be a corruption of the Greek word Katadoupoi, referring to the waterfalls on the Nile,[1] possibly through the old French word catadupe ('waterfall'). In old English, catadupe meant a cataract or waterfall.

It has been suggested[who?] that "Cats and dogs" may come from the Greek expression kata doxa, which means "contrary to experience or belief"; if it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining unusually hard. However there is no evidence to support the theory that the expression was borrowed by English speakers.[1]

An online rumor largely circulated through email claimed that, in 16th-century Europe, animals could crawl into the thatch of peasant homes to seek shelter from the elements and would fall out during heavy rain. However, no evidence has been found in support of the claim.[6]

There may not be a logical explanation; the phrase may have been used just for its nonsensical humor value, or to describe particularly heavy rainfall, like other equivalent English expressions ("raining pitchforks", "raining hammer handles").

Equivalent expressions in other languages

Other languages have equally bizarre expressions for heavy rain.[7][8]

Language Expression English translation
Afan Oromo Waaqatu baqaqe the sky got torn
Afrikaans dit reën ou meide/vrouens/anties met knopkieries it's raining old tribal women/women/aunts with knobsticks
dit reën paddas en platannas it's raining frogs and toads
Albanian po bie litarë-litarë [rain] is falling like ropes
po bën Zoti shurrën God is taking a piss
po qan Zoti God is crying
Bengali মুষলধারে বৃষ্টি পড়ছে

musholdhare brishṭi poṛchhe

rain is falling like pestles
Bosnian padaju ćuskije crowbars dropping
lije ko iz kabla it's pouring like from a bucket
Cantonese 落狗屎 it's raining dog's poo
Chinese 傾盆大雨/倾盆大雨

qīngpén dàyǔ

it's pouring out of basins
Catalan ploure a bots i barrals raining boats and barrels
Croatian padaju sjekire axes dropping
Czech padají trakaře falling wheelbarrows
leje jako z konve rains like from a watering can
Danish regner skomagerdrenge raining shoemakers' apprentices
Dutch het regent pijpenstelen raining pipe stems (or stair rods)
Dutch (Flemish) het regent oude wijven raining old women
het regent kattenjongen raining kittens
Estonian sajab nagu oavarrest raining like from a beanstalk
kallab nagu ämbrist raining as if poured from a bucket
Finnish sataa kuin Esterin perseestä raining like from Esteri's ass
sataa kuin saavista kaatamalla raining as if poured from a bucket
French il pleut comme vache qui pisse raining like a peeing cow
il pleut des seaux raining buckets
il pleut des hallebardes raining halberds
il pleut des clous raining nails
il pleut des cordes raining ropes
il pleut à boire debout raining enough to drink standing
Georgian კოკისპირული წვიმა

kokispiruli tsvima

raining like water flows from a filled koka(koka: 'water measuring tableware, jar')
German es regnet junge Hunde raining young dogs
es schüttet wie aus Eimern raining like poured from buckets
es regnet Bindfäden raining strings
Greek βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα

vréchei kareklopódara

raining chair legs
Hebrew גשם זלעפות stormy/raging rain
Hindi मुसलधार बारिश

musaldhār bārish

rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]
Hungarian mintha dézsából öntenék like poured from a vat
Icelandic Það rignir eins og hellt sé úr fötu like poured from a bucket
Japanese 土砂降り

doshaburi

earth and sand descending
Kannada ಮುಸಲಧಾರೆ, ಕುಂಭದ್ರೋಣ ಮಳೆ a stream of mallets
Italian piove a catinelle poured from a basin
Latin urceatim pluebat it rained from a basin
Latvian līst kā no spaiņiem it's raining like from buckets
Lithuanian pila kaip iš kibiro it's pouring like from a bucket
Malayalam പേമാരി

pemari

mad rain
Maltese infetħu bwieb is-sema the doors of the sky have opened
Marathi मुसळधार पाउस rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]
Nepali मुसलधारे झरी rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]
Norwegian det regner trollkjerringer raining she-trolls
det snør kattunger it's snowing kittens
Odia ମୂଷଳଧାରା ବର୍ଷା rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]
Persian شغال باران

shoqal baran

raining jackals
Polish leje jak z cebra pouring like from a bucket
rzuca żabami [the rain/it] is throwing frogs
Portuguese está chovendo canivetes raining penknives
está chovendo a potes raining by the pot load
está chovendo a baldes raining by the bucket load
está chovendo a cântaros raining by the pitcher load
está chovendo a canecos raining by the jug load
está a chover chouriços[9] it's raining chorizos
Portuguese (Brazil) chovem cobras e lagartos raining snakes and lizards
está caindo um pau-d'água a stick of water is falling
está caindo um pé-d'água a foot of water is falling
Punjabi ਨਿਆਣੇ-ਕੁੱਟ ਮੀਂਹ rain that beats kids
Romanian plouă cu broaşte raining frogs
plouă de sparge breaking with rain
plouă cu găleata raining from a bucket
Russian льет как из ведра it's pouring like from a bucket
Scottish Gaelic an t-uisge cho garbh ris na faochagan the rain as rough as whelks
an dìle bhàite the drowning deluge
Serbian padaju sekire axes are falling
pada kao iz kabla pouring like from a bucket
Sinhalese නාකපන්න වහිනවා raining cats and dogs
Spanish están lloviendo chuzos de punta shortpikes/icicles point first
está lloviendo a cántaros raining by the clay pot-full
está cayendo la del pulpo (the rain) is hitting us like they hit an octopus
llueven sapos y culebras raining toads and snakes
Spanish (Argentina) caen soretes de punta pointing down turds are falling
Spanish (Colombia) estan lloviendo maridos raining husbands
Spanish (Venezuela) está cayendo un palo de agua a stick of water is falling
Swedish det regnar smådjävlar raining little devils
det regnar småspik raining small nails
regnet står som spön i backen the rain stands like canes on the ground
skyfall sky fall
Tamil பேய் மழை

pei mazhi

ghost rain
Telugu కుండపోత వర్షం pouring like an inverted pot
Thai ฝนตกไม่ลืมหูลืมตา

fon dtok mai lʉʉm huu lʉʉm dtaa

raining without opening its eyes and ears
Turkish bardaktan boşanırcasına raining like poured from a cup
Ukrainian лиє, як з відра pouring like from a bucket
Urdu موسلادھار بارش rain like a pestle [on a mortar]
Vietnamese mưa như trút nước raining as pouring a lot of water
Welsh mae hi'n bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn raining old ladies and sticks

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Anatoly Liberman (21 March 2007). "Raining Cats and Dogs". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  2. ^ Richard Brome (1652), The City Witt: "It shall rain dogs and polecats."
  3. ^ Robert Laurence. "Raining Cats And Dogs". All About Stuff. Archived from the original on 2009-10-06. Retrieved 2009-07-28. The first printed use of the phrase...when English playwright Richard Brome wrote in The City Witt (1652): "It shall rain dogs and polecats."
  4. ^ Raining cats and dogs at The Phrase Finder site. Accessed on 2009-07-28.
  5. ^ "The meaning and origin of the expression: Raining cats and dogs". 2017.
  6. ^ "Life in the 1500s". Snopes.com. 2007.
  7. ^ WordReference.com Language Forums, accessed on 2009-07-28.
  8. ^ It's raining cats and dogs at Omniglot.com. Accessed through Google's cache on 2009-07-28.
  9. ^ cãoazul. "TÁ A CHUBER CHOURIÇAS". Loja/Store cãoazul. cãoazul. Retrieved 4 May 2023.