Where did the saying "A pig in a poke" come from?

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Where did the saying "A pig in a poke" come from?

I understand it means something totally worthless, but what the heck is a poke?

2007-02-25 06:23:19 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay

3 answers

the poke was a bag. So, to buy a pig in a poke meant to buy something unseen. It's not necessarily worthless, you just don't know what it is that you're getting.

2007-02-25 06:30:33 · answer #1 · answered by Timothy S 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋

A long time ago, a "poke" was a bag. If you bought a pig in a poke, you were buying a pig in a bag without seeing it. Potentially, that bag could be filled with a 2 pound pig and 20 pounds of rocks... You never knew what you were getting.

2007-02-25 06:53:44 · answer #2 · answered by Squeegee Beckingheim :-) 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋

Try:
http://www.bartleby.com/81/13246.html

2007-02-25 06:38:03 · answer #3 · answered by Ace Librarian 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋