What is the idiom,"When the Cat's Away, the Mice Will Play”, origin?

Answer 1

From usingenglish.com:
People whose behaviour is strictly controlled go over the top when the authority is not around, which is why most teenagers have parties when their parents have gone on holiday. The parents are the scary authority figures, but the cat's away and the kids are the mice partying and enjoying their freedom.

Naturally, the more zoological-oriented rationale for this truism is that: mice and rats proliferate where there are no cats. Hence, the tolerance for cats even in societies where cats as pets is unheard of.

Answer 2

I reproduce herewith Page 1 of the relevant website containing 10 entries. There is one more page containing more entries. All these entries relate to the question asked by you and I trust you will find them quite interesting.

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1-10 of 22 for What is the idiom ," When the Cat ' s Away , the Mice Will Play ”, origin (About) - 0.62 sec
WEB RESULTSReturn to Story of English Index Page
The important aspect of an idiom is its function. ... When the cat's away, the mice will play. Appendix E. The Boy Who Cried Wolf ...www.unm.edu/~abqteach/linguistics/02-08-06.htm - 124k - Cached
Italian proverbs - Wikiquote
(The origin of this proverb is a tale, in which an acolyte monk, Martin, was told ... Idiomatic translation: "When the cat's away, the mice will play. ...en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Italian_proverbs - 40k - Cached
Phrases, sayings, quotes and cliches Discussion Forum - Archive 17
What is the origin of these phrases? - APlusC 12/17/02 ... when the cat's away the mice will play - Michael Chapman 11/19/02 ...www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/17/index.html - 125k - Cached
CatStuff: Cat-Related Idioms / Phrases and their Origin
An idiom attributed to Ben Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanac ... When the cat's away, the mice will play - Without supervision, people misbehave. Idioms: ...www.xmission.com/~emailbox/phrases.htm - 58k - Cached
Nathalie Colin (PDF)
The origin of the well-known animal idiom to keep the wolf from the door is ... att ha/få en tupp i halsen * When the cat's away the mice will play. När katten ...diva-portal.org/diva/getDocument?urn_nbn_se_kau_diva-13-1__fulltext... - 144k - View as html
Animals - Vocabulary - Activities - ESL Resources
Animal idioms - "Click on an idiom to study its meaning before taking ... "When the cat's away the mice will play" Which Hogwarts House Do You Belong In? ...www.ac-nancy-metz.fr/enseign/anglais/Henry/anim3.htm - 43k - Cached
Into Spanish Translation Blog - 2007
... no está, los ratones bailan" is "When the cat's away, the mice will play" (in English mice play instead of dancing) ... Spanish word for thumb, "pulgar" which has an unsavory origin. ...jb-translator.com/into-spanish-translation/index.php/2007/?...&paged=2 - 143k - Cached
Polish
... to nie tobie smrodzie (What is allowed to a voievoda, ... English translation : When the cat's away the mice will play. ... Origin of their name is unknown. ...www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/english/Po/Polish.html - 215k - Cached
Lydbury Grammar Clinic: Cats/origin of some phrases
When the cat's away, the mice will play. ... Perhaps the origin is as simple as that. As for "cows pissing", the American English idiom reads "It's raining ...www.lydbury.co.uk/grammar/forum_posts.asp?TID=11770&PID=57015 - 30k
Ever wondered..?
An idiom attributed to Ben Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanac. ... When the cat's away, the mice will play - Without supervision, people misbehave. ...p103.ezboard.com/fpetlossfrm2.showNextMessage?topicID=86.topic - 30k

Answer 3

Hard to tell, but obviously someone watched the mice come out to play when the cat wasn't there.....
I just looked it up. It comes from 14th century France (but the original was, obviously, in French)

Answer 4

1

Answer 5

Good question. What is the origin?