The phrase, "curiousity killed the cat"-where does it stem from?

Answer 1

The cat was looking in a garbage truck (curious), when the truck began operating and lifted the cat into the...
Another cat was curious and it licked a light socket.
Another crawled into a microwave
Thus the phrase evolved...

Answer 2

The earliest printed reference to the origin of this proverb is attributed to British playwright Ben Jonson in his 1598 play, Every Man in His Humour (performed first by British playwright William Shakespeare).

“ ...Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care will kill a cat, up-tails all, and a pox on the hangman. ”

In this instance, "care" was defined as "worry" or "sorrow."

Shakespeare used a similar quote in his circa 1599 play, Much Ado About Nothing:

“ What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care. ”

The proverb apparently remained the same until at least 1898. E. Cobham Brewer included this definition in his Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:
“ Care killed the Cat.
It is said that "a cat has nine lives," yet care would wear them all out.
”

The earliest known printed reference that is similar in style and meaning to the current proverb is O. Henry's short story Schools and Schools from 1909:
“ Curiosity can do more things than kill a cat; and if emotions, well recognized as feminine, are inimical to feline life, then jealousy would soon leave the whole world catless. ”

The earliest known printed reference to the actual phrase occurred in The Washington Post on 4 March 1916 (page 6):
“ CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT. ”

Answer 3

Cats are quite curious and intelligent animals by nature,and they will try to learn something new whenever they have the chance.

This means that whenever they come across something new, they will first study it from a distance, but when temptation becomes unbearable and the object of interest becomes irresistable (that is, when their curiosity gets the better of them), they will physically engage that object of their interest.

It is quite possible that this decision may have quite unexpected and harmful (even lethal) results. It is equally possible that people have noticed this tendency over the few thousand years the cat has been domesticated, and have coined this phrase accordingly.

Answer 4

Curiosity killed the cat is a proverb used to warn against being too inquisitive lest one comes to harm.

Origins
The earliest printed reference to the origin of this proverb is attributed to British playwright Ben Jonson in his 1598 play, Every Man in His Humour (performed first by British playwright William Shakespeare).

“ ...Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care will kill a cat, up-tails all, and a pox on the hangman. ” In this instance, "care" was defined as "worry" or "sorrow."

Shakespeare used a similar quote in his circa 1599 play, Much Ado About Nothing: “ What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.

Curiosity killed the cat - Be cautious when investigating situations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curiosity_killed_the_cat

The saying originally was "care kills a cat," and began in the 16th century. "Care" was a warning that worry is bad for your health and can lead to an early grave; the phrase was a recognition that cats seem to be very cautious and careful. Over time, the word "care" evolved into "curiosity."
http://www.xmission.com/~emailbox/phrases.htm

Answer 5

cats are curious animals
which makes them very nosey and will likely get them killed

~for example~
my cat kept hearing something in my closet
so she went in there while i was sleep,got into some hole that lead to the bathroom and fell down to the first floor while she was still in the wall,i heard her making noise so we put 2 holes in our wall but couldnt find her so later on in the day my other cat was sitting by the hole that was close by the floor and the kitten was in the hole upside down hanging from a wire dead

thats why i say curiosity killed (our)Cat

Answer 6

don't really know. but as pandora. don't open anything that you're not prepared to see the worst. trust me curiousity nearly killed this cat.

Answer 7

Cats are very curious animals. They often check out things and sniff around. Sometimes it causes them to get hurt or even die.

Answer 8

some times cats are so curious they can do something that can hurt them or kill them and i dont know how it started

Answer 9

There once was an elephant named Curiousity...

Answer 10

1792 quote by I. P. Freely upon observing the curiosity of his cat Phoebe.