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Idioms Explained: Raining Cats & Dogs
Posted on 11 March, 2013 by Shiloh
One of the toughest challenges for a deaf student learning to read is understanding the use of English idioms. An idiom is a phrase or expression using familiar words grouped in a context with no reasonable connection to the literal meaning of the individual words.
For example, the idiom “raining cats and dogs” means it’s raining hard. It doesn’t mean cats and dogs are literally falling from the sky like raindrops.
So, where do phrases like this come from?
There are many theories behind the origin of the idiom “raining cats and dogs.” Some theories link the idiom to words or phrases in other languages. In Greece, the phrase cata doxa is used to describe something that’s difficult to believe, like an unbelievably hard rainfall. I like this theory only because I like to say “cata doxa.”
It’s also been proposed that “raining cats and dogs” has something to do with mythology or witchcraft. The Norse god of storms, Odin, was often accompanied by dogs and wolves. As a result, sailors believed dogs were signs of heavy rain. Since witches are often pictured riding in the wind with or as black cats, it was also believed that cats were symbols of wind storms. Put the two theories together, and you have raining dogs and windy cats.
The most popular theory suggests that in heavy storms, dogs and cats sought shelter in or atop thatch roofs and when the downpour swept them off, they “rained” onto the streets. That theory makes no sense to me, because why would an animal seek shelter on top of a roof?
The most accepted theory is that the phrase is derived from various pieces of literature. Author Jonathan Swift used two phrases in his writing that seemed to cement the idiom into the English language.
In a 1710 poem titled, “A Description of a City Shower,” Swift wrote about a torrent flood where,
Drown’d Puppies, stinking Sprats, all drench’d in Mud,
Dead Cats and Turnip-Tops come tumbling down the Flood.
In a 1738 writing, A Complete Collection of Polite and Ingenious Conversation, Swift wrote,
“I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs.”
No one knows the true origin of the idiom “raining cats and dogs,” so I guess it’s up to each of us to make our own decisions. Which theory do you believe?
This entry was posted in Communication, Education, Idioms and tagged ASL, communication, English, idioms, language, reading by Shiloh. Bookmark the permalink.
Idioms Explained: Raining Cats and Dogs | Hearing Parent Deaf Child