Speaking of Pets: Origins of Popular Pet Phrases

PetSmart - Terry McManus / Pets.com
June 2, 2009

Animals have been prominent in art since prehistoric people started painting them on cave walls. Early writers like Aesop carried on the tradition by creating a long line of talking creatures who taught humans how to live better in his famous fables.

Is it any wonder that so many of our current phrases like “it’s a dog’s life” and “the cat’s meow” refer to our four-legged companions? Here’s a sampling of those phrases with theories on their origins collected from on various web sites:

“Cat got your tongue?”

This phrase can be traced to the Middle Ages when it was common to report witch sightings. Peasants believed that if they saw a witch, her cat would steal or take control of your tongue, preventing them from reporting the sighting. Silly peasants.

“The Cat’s Meow”

Newspaper cartoonist Thomas A. Dorgan, working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, gets credit for coining “the cat’s meow,” which signifies excellence. The creative Dorgan also invented “for crying out loud,” which, coincidentally, is how my cat asks for food.

“Hair of the Dog”

If you ever celebrated too much and felt achy the next morning, it’s possible someone advised you to have some “hair of the dog” to recover. This refers to the custom of medieval English doctors, who recommended rubbing dog’s hair into the wound caused by an animal bite. What were these doctors running low on leeches?  

“It’s a Dog’s Life”

If you’re currently living a “dog’s life,” chances are you’re doing pretty well with others catering to your every whim. But the phrase means the opposite, because dogs used to work for their food; some of them even pulled milk carts. Origins are murky, but first use probably came in Europe in the 16th century.

“It’s Raining Cats and Dogs”

Dogs and cats don’t typically cooperate on projects, but they sure know how to make it “rain cats and dogs." The phrase comes from Germanic mythology, in which cats were associated with storms and dogs with rain.

Well, that was some hard research! I’m dog tired and need a catnap.

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