Origin of Dog and Cat Phrases

Most of the time, living in New York City is the cat’s pajamas. The energy in the air is electric and the changing seasons are beautiful; anyone who wants to tell me otherwise is barking up the wrong tree. Recently though, that frenzied pace has felt more dog-eat-dog than exciting, and the dirty piles of snow have left me longing for the dog days of summer. On a whim, I booked a trip to Los Angeles with my daughter, who’d been working like a dog since the holidays, and prayed that it wouldn’t rain cats and dogs during our time on the West Coast.

My daughter was sick as a dog our first day there, having come down with a cold just before we left. But even though she’d shown up at the airport looking like something the cat dragged in, after a good night’s sleep she was once again looking like the cat’s meow. We spent our days walking the Venice Beach boardwalk, poking around the fancy shops on Abbot Kinney, visiting the Getty Museum, and hiking up to Griffith Observatory. By evening, our dogs were barking, and we needed cat naps to revive ourselves before going out.

Shall I keep going? I could tell you about the restaurant that wasn’t big enough to swing a cat in, but which had such huge portions that we asked for a doggy bag to take home the leftovers — but maybe you’ve had enough of this dog-and-pony show, and you’re ready for me to get to the point. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, and this is just my way of jamming as many dog and cat idioms as possible into one story, before getting to the bottom of their origins. Where, exactly, do these phrases come from? Curiosity may have killed the cat, but let’s dive in anyway. 

The cat’s pajamas/meow

Maybe it was all that bathtub gin they were drinking, because the Jazz Age gave birth to a bunch of wacky animal-based sayings. Besides “the cat’s pajamas” and “the cat’s meow,” there was also “the bee’s knees,“ which you’ve probably heard of, as well as “the snake’s eyebrows,” “the elephant’s tonsils,” and “the caterpillar’s camisole.” “It’s easy to see how the idea of such rare or impossible things could give rise to a phrase denoting something that is exceptional or especially noteworthy,” Dave Wilton writes on his blog, Word Origins.

Barking up the wrong tree

This one seems to have originated in the 1800s, when frontiersmen used hound dogs to hunt raccoons and possums. When the prey scampered into the trees to escape, sometimes the dogs got confused, leading them to, yes, bark up the wrong tree. Now, of course, we use it to mean that someone has been misled, and is wasting their effort following up on a mistaken belief.

Dog-eat-dog 

This saying got flipped at some point, because the original Latin proverb, canis caninam non est, meant “dog doesn’t eat dog,” according to Gregory Titelman, author of Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings. But times change, and our language has to keep up with the ruthlessness of the world. 

Dog days of summer

Astronomy nerds, this one’s for you. The dog in question is Sirius, also known as the Dog Star — the brightest star in the Canis Major constellation, and the “dog days” were the period of time when Sirius rose along with the sun, roughly early July to mid-August. The ancient Romans believed the star’s heat combined with the sun's to produce the hottest, most oppressive days of the year. 

Working like a dog

It’s not clear when this one entered the lexicon, but its origin is pretty self-explanatory: Dogs, historically, are hard and uncomplaining workers. Whether you’re talking about guard dogs, sled dogs, herd dogs, or emotional support dogs, their loyalty and obedience are undeniable.

Raining cats and dogs

People love to debate this one. The explanation I’ve always heard, that it referred to a rain so torrential that dead animals floated down the street due to flooding, may or may not be true. It could also come from the Greek saying cata doxa, which translates to “contrary to experience or belief.” As in, it’s raining harder than you can believe. Another popular explanation, that cats and dogs slept on thatched roofs and fell through when it rained heavily, is almost certainly a myth, since it’s unlikely that dogs and cats would hang out on a roof during a rainstorm. (They’re not dumb!)

Sick as a dog

Dogs weren’t always as well-loved and coddled as they are today; back in the 1700s, when this phrase seems to have originated, dogs tended to live outdoors and appear mangier and dirtier than we’re used to seeing them — not unlike me, when I’m sick. They also often carried diseases, such as the plague. (Why we then don’t say “sick as a rat” — far more notorious for spreading the plague! — is a mystery to me.) 

Like something the cat dragged in

This one isn’t a mystery. If your cat has ever brought a mouse, bird, lizard, or similar gift home to you, then you get it: those dead (or half-dead) animals usually look pretty rough. (The similar saying, “Look what the cat dragged in!” is used to express surprise, perhaps with a shade of disgust — although, if you let your cat go outside, how surprised can you really be when they bring back a prize?)

My dogs are barking

Contrary to popular belief (OK, my own personal belief), John Candy did not originate this saying in the classic film, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. So how did this come to mean that someone’s feet hurt? One theory holds that journalist T. Dorgan coined it using Cockney rhyming slang, with “dog meat” standing in for “feet.” (I prefer to continue crediting John Candy.)

Cat nap

Again, this one isn’t hard to understand. Cats may sleep a lot, but typically it’s in short spurts — and they’re always ready to spring into action. Similarly, a cat nap refers to a short, light sleep, and people have been saying it since at least the 1800s.

Not big enough to swing a cat in

The origins of this saying, which means a tightly confined space, are widely believed to be nautical, referring to a “cat o’nine tails,” which was a whip used to punish sailors in the British Navy. (Ships are small!) However, Gary Martin, creator of the Phrase Finder website, isn’t buying it. “The actual evidence shows the theory to be highly dubious,” he says. Unsatisfying as it may be, the real answer seems to be that no one is quite sure.

Doggy bag

When food was in short supply during World War II, restaurant patrons were encouraged to bring their leftovers home for their dogs, and the “doggy bag” was born. But after the war ended, some people found the practice embarrassing — notably etiquette columnist Emily Post, who scolded, “Restaurants provide ‘doggy bags’ for bones to be taken to pets, and generally the bags should be restricted to that use.” (A few years later, however, she changed her tune.)

Dog-and-pony show

When you go to a circus, you expect to see elephants, and maybe tigers or bears. But in the late 1800s and early 1900s, some smaller traveling circuses only had dogs and ponies. That’s how “dog and pony show” came to mean an overblown presentation, particularly in business or politics. 

More than one way to skin a cat

Horrifying as this one is, noted cat-lover Mark Twain is among those who have used it to mean that there are many ways to accomplish a task. (“She was wise, subtle, and knew more than one way to skin a cat,” he wrote in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court in 1889.) Some people think it may have originated in reference to skinning catfish, but like some of these other sayings, no one seems to know for sure.

Curiosity killed the cat

Although we usually think of this saying as meaning that being too inquisitive is dangerous, the original meaning was different. When playwright Ben Jonson used it in 1598, he wrote “care’ll kill a cat,” and it meant excessive worry or sorrow. Over time, “care” shifted to “curiosity,” with the modern version solidifying by the late 1800s. The rejoinder “but satisfaction brought it back” was added in the early 20th century. 

There are so many of these expressions, I could keep going for a dog’s age. But I’ll leave it there for now, even though, as my daughter could tell you, the cat rarely has my tongue. I’m starting to feel too much like my mother, with all these corny old sayings. (My mother’s favorite expression, for the record, isn’t dog or cat related — it’s “rats!” Only when she’s really mad, though)