“When you hear someone say, ‘It’s raining cats and dogs,’ it immediately conjures images of animals falling from the sky But it doesn't mean you should keep an eye out for flying pets during a rainstorm – it's just an old way of saying it's raining really, really hard. Though cowboy’s used this saying often, they didn’t start it. The first written record of it goes way back to 1738 in a book by Jonathan Swift. He wrote about a guy who'd go out even if it was raining “cats and dogs.”
But even before that, the origin is at question. One idea is that it started with a link to Norse mythology. In Scandinavia, cats were thought to be connected to rain, and dogs were seen as a symbol of storms. So, imagine a big storm where cats and dogs were fighting in the sky. That would be a lot of rain and lightning.
Another possibility is that back in olden times, some English houses had thatched roofs. Stray cats and dogs would often hung out up there, especially when it rained. But when the rain got heavy, the thatch got slippery, and pets started sliding off the roof and onto whoever might be standing below. So when it rained especially hard, you might actually have a dog or cat seem to fall out of the sky.
Regardless, cowboys often had to be out in the weather even if it was a downpour to work the cattle. How about you? Have you ever heard this saying before? Used it yourself? Could you see yourself using it now? Let me know in a comment!
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