Raining cats and dogs?

Question

where did that saying come from? did they fall from the sky at some time or jump from balconies, free fall from overhead aircraft, is that where baby cats and dogs come from, now i'm in for it, lets see your answers

Answer 1

The most common one says that in olden times, homes had thatched roofs in which domestic animals such as cats and dogs would like to hide. In heavy rain, the animals would either be washed out of the thatch, or rapidly abandon it for better shelter, so it would seem to be raining cats and dogs. Other suggestions include derivation from an unspecified Greek aphorism that was similar in sound and which meant “an unlikely occurrence”, or that it is a corrupted version of a rare French word, catadoupe, meaning a waterfall. It has also been suggested that at one time the streets of British towns were so poorly constructed that many cats and dogs would drown whenever there was a storm; people seeing the corpses floating by would think they had fallen from the sky, like the proverbial rains of frogs.

Answer 2

We have all heard the expression "it's raining cats and dogs." There are several theories about this rainfall saying. It is possible that the word cat is derived from the Greek word 'catadupe' meaning 'waterfall.' Or it could be raining 'cata doxas,' which is Latin for 'contrary to experience,' or an unusual fall of rain.
In Northern mythology the cat is supposed to have great influence on the weather, and English sailors still say the cat has a gale of wind in her tail when she is unusually frisky. Witches that rode upon the storms were said to assume the form of cats; and the stormy northwest wind is called the cat's nose in the Harz mountains even at the present day. The dog is a signal of wind, like the wolf. Both animals were attendants of Odin, the storm-god. In old German pictures the wind is figured as the "head of a dog or wolf," from which blasts issue. The cat therefore symbolizes the down-pouring of rain, and the dog the strong gusts of wind that accompany a rainstorm; and a rain of "cats and dogs" is a heavy rain with wind.

Answer 3

Hi Lolly - the saying came from ?Tudor (dont quote me on that!) age when animals used to sleep in the thatched roofs to keep warm. When it rained, theyd fall out, hence rainign cats and dogs. I got this from an email I received about a year ago so a few minute details might be a little off but thats the main gist of it! xx

Answer 4

In medieval times the thatched roofs of houses were quite low at the eaves. Dogs and cats would climb into them to shelter from the rain, when the thatch became sodden the animals would fall out, hence the expression

Answer 5

Back in the 1500s, I heard, was when the saying "It's raining cats and dogs" came from. Pets usually stayed outside (cats, dogs, mice, etc.) and when it started to rain they would climb the wooden roofs and try to hide from the rain under the straw that was on the roof. The roof became really slippery and the pets would slide and fall off. Hense the saying.

Answer 6

great question, which the others have given you plenty for an answer, so here's a tale of interest for you.

i was once in a place that it rained crabs. yep, no lie. on an island in ha long bay (northern vietnam) called cat ba, i was dining with my guests at a seaside restaurant, when all of a sudden crabs started falling from above. it turned out that one of the people staying in the hotel above had bought a dozen or so crabs that afternoon and had put them on their balcony, but they escaped their cage and the balcony had a gap in the railing, which the crabs went through and fell on us below. rather amusing at the time, so i hope you can see the funny side too.

Answer 7

Its to do with the weather, when there is a tornedo/hurricane it picks all the cats and dogs up so when the wind dies down it rains cats and dogs!!doh

Answer 8

I was also led to believe that it was the thatched roof scenario, although that sounds rather unlikely to me.

If it really did rain cats and dogs, I guess we would all be treading in poodles.

Sorry!

Answer 9

I have actually witnessed the thatched roof scenario, though it was birds and bugs that fell or flew out of the thatch.

It's raining birds and Bugs, just doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?

Answer 10

According to this weeks Sunday paper it was from 17th Centuary london. When the rain was strong enough, it used to wash away the dead animals from the gutter.