where did the term raining cats and dogs come from?

Answer 1

"Raining cats and dogs" may have a meaning a little more literal than one would suppose. Historian Alfred H. Holt believes the term is based on the fact that after a cloud burst in the 17th and even the 18th century England, the gutters would rage with a filthy torrent, not unlikely to include dead cats and dogs. The first mention can be found in a poem called "City Shower" by Jonathon swift (1738) which reads: "I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain Cats and dogs"......also This sentence appeared first in Jonathan Swift’s work A Complete Collection of Polite and Ingenious Conversation published in 1738, but its origin is unknown. One explanation suggests that the expression is a distortion of the old French word catadoupe (meaning waterfall or cataract). Another theory is that the term originated in the Middle Ages, when dead cats and dogs left in the street were flushed away during heavy rains.

Answer 2

No one knows exactly where "its raining cats and dogs"
originated. It is a term used to describe the torrential
downpours usually associated with very severe thunderstorms.
Hurricanes can produce huge amounts of rainfall.
Perhaps large hail (softball sized) caused someone to
claim rain was like small animals falling from the sky.

The facts are even more interesting. Since strong thunderstorms
are also associated with tornados and hail because of
their strong updrafts, other strange rains have fallen from the sky.
People have claimed seeing fish, frogs, maggots and other wild life
falling from the sky with rains. This is a REAL phenomenon
and has been attributed to tornados and water spouts.

Answer 3

Back in the 1500's houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying . It's raining cats and dogs.

Answer 4

I thought the "puddle" / "poodle" was the vaudville reason. The raining cats and dogs came after that...

Answer 5

It was originally (back in the olden days) 'it's raining c**ts and d**ks', in other words, it's pissing down.
This was changed to 'cats and dogs' in Victorian times, by Royal edict. The clean version stuck.


(Alright, so I made mine up - thanks a lot, mr wikipedea)

Answer 6

There are a lot of theories on the derivation of this, none of them is certain. One is that it derived form the french word catdoupe which is a word for waterfall.