LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG

Origin: Mid-18^th Century, British English. This expression has a fascinating origin. Somehow it seems to be related to an expression about 200 years older, the warning about “buying a pig in a poke.” A “poke” is an old English term for bag; the word is still supposedly used in some regional dialects in Scotland and the US, though I’ve personally never heard it used. So why not buy a pig in a bag? Well, if the bag is closed and tied then it’s possible that what you have in the bag may not be a pig at all, but a cat. I think we’re talking about a small pig or piglet here, because a full grown pig is not going to be confused with a cat, but a piglet could. Anyway, it you “let the cat out of the bag”, then you are exposing a fraud, a secret. You paid for a pig but got a cat instead which presumably is a lot cheaper. To me this is somewhat convoluted thinking, but who am I to disagree? “Spill the beans” is a related idiom.

Usage:  Informal, spoken and written, general American and British English

Idiomatic Meaning: Reveal a secret

Literal Meaning: Open a bag, or sack, or poke and release a feline which was caught inside.

Why is this funny?   There is nothing particularly funny about the idiom, but the cartoon makes use of the generalization of the word “cat”. Normally it refers to  the typical house cat, about a foot and a half long and weighing around 10-12 pounds. But ANY feline can be referred to as a “cat”, this includes lions, tigers, panthers, cougars, etc. Small kitty cats are cute and cuddly, but full grown tigers are man-eaters and will scare the pants off most humans. In the cartoon we see that a guy has a rather large bag. When asked about its contents he indicates that he cannot say because it’s a secret. Then he suddenly “lets the cat out of the bag” (reveals the secret) by letting the cat (tiger) out of the bag!

Sample sentence: My dad wouldn’t tell me what my birthday present was, but my mom “let the cat out of the bag” and told me they bought me a new smart phone.