The Nightly "What is the origin of that phrase?"

[caledesi]

Ok folks, I consider this a difficult one, though we use it all the time.

Phrase: "It's raining cats and dogs."

Winner receives a free a cyber hug from me.

Congratulations to our last winner Robb!

Edit: typo

[TacticalPeek]

1. The need arose

to distinguish a harder raining than just raining cats or just raining dogs.

[xchrom]

3. it was apparently raining dachshunds

and not rotweilers.

[THUNDER HANDS]

2. 17th Century England

City streets were filthy and heavy rain would occasionally carry along dead animals. Richard Brome's The City Witt, 1652 has the line 'It shall rain dogs and polecats'. Also, cats and dogs both have ancient associations with bad weather. Witches were supposed to ride the wind during storms in the form of cats.

[caledesi]

4. No, but the rain is a hint. BTW, NO googling. nt

[cosmicdot]

5. had something to do with dogs and cats falling through the roof ...

... during heavy rainfalls ...

:shrug:

[caledesi]

6. Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!

cosmicdot - you are the winner. Congratulations!

In the old days in the UK, most roofs were thatched roofs. The cats and dogs would usually sleep on these roofs. However, when the rain came, they would jump off the roof. Hence the phrase "It's raining cats and dogs."

Your Prize: {{{{{HUGS}}}}}

[Character Assassin]

7. Ummm... how, exactly, does a dog get on the roof?

[Junkdrawer]

9. This site disagrees...

Anyone who has spent time in a thatched structure knows that cats and dogs could not have lived in the thatch itself. Medieval domestic cats and dogs stayed by the fireplace or with people to keep warm, not in the roof thatch. And, choking smoke and soot would drive an animal as large as a cat or dog out of any elevated place.

Lastly, dogs would not have been able to navigate the interior beams and other structures supporting the roof. Dogs in general were nearly all large animals and no more inclined to be on roofs than dogs today are.


http://www.wordskit.com/language/legends/catdog.shtml

[zelda7743]

10. Not according to Snopes.com

This is what they have to say:

Part of text being debunked:
"I'll describe their houses a little. You've heard of thatch roofs, well that's all they were. Thick straw, piled high, with no wood underneath. They were the only place for the little animals to get warm. So all the pets; dogs, cats and other small animals, mice, rats, bugs, all lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery so sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Thus the saying, "it's raining cats and dogs,"

Snopes response:
Mice, rats, and bugs definitely take up residence in thatch roofs — to them it's a highrise hay mow. Cats and dogs, however, don't go up there."

The saying it's raining cats and dogs was first noted in the 17th century, not the 16th. A number of theories as to its origin exist:


By evoking the image of cats and dogs fighting in a riotous, all-out manner, it expresses the fury of a sudden downpour.

Primitive drainage systems in use in the 17th century could be overwhelmed by heavy rainstorms, leading to gutters overflowing with debris that included dead animals.

In Northen European mythology, it is believed cats influence the weather and dogs represent wind.

The saying might have derived from the obsolete French word catadoupe, meaning waterfall or cataract.

It might have come from a similar-sounding Greek phrase meaning "an unlikely occurrence."

[cosmicdot]

13. win or lose ... I'll still take the

{{{{{HUGS}}}}}

[Junkdrawer]

8. Origin Unknown, lots of theories, first known use in 17th century...

My wife owns several Phrase Origin books..

[caledesi]

11. Boy, I bombed. What do I do? (totally humilated)

Gee, I thought I knew most of the adages pretty well. I guess you are all winners. Shame on me.

[Junkdrawer]

12. No matter. The word origin books often disagree...

BTW:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=204295#204388