Cowboy Sayings: Let the Cat out of the Bag

 

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“Let the cat out of the bag” is a phrase that finds its origins in the living of farmers and cowboys who went to purchase piglets or other small, valuable animals at a fair or livestock sale. A dishonest seller has been known to allow the farmer to pick out a piglet, pay for it, and then replace the piglet with a cat when he hands the buyer the bag that was supposed to have a piglet in it.

Why? Because in the days before it was common to spay and neuter pets, cats were worth less than a dime a dozen, but a piglet was worth a whole lot more. So then “letting the cat out of the bag” was shedding light on a secret that was usually a dishonest or nefarious one.

Historically, this saying can be traced back further than cowboy times all the way to Medieval England, where agriculture played a central role in daily life. Perhaps it was a warning not to buy livestock from a seller you didn’t know, or just simply check the bag before you leave the merchant. Today, the age-old advice still holds true.

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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Cowboy Sayings - Make Hay While the Sun Shines

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“Make hay while the sun shines” is a phrase that finds its origins in the practical wisdom of farmers and cowboys who understood the critical importance of good weather when it came to harvesting hay. Harvesting hay, a staple in animal feed and bedding, is a delicate process that requires dry conditions. The sun’s warmth helps in drying the hay efficiently, preserving its nutritional value and preventing mold. And when winter comes, they are going to need that hay to feed the animals when the grass stops growing.

Historically, this saying can be traced back further than cowboy times all the way to Medieval England, where agriculture played a central role in daily life. The phrase encapsulates the essence of recognizing and capitalizing on favorable circumstances when they arise. It’s another way of saying, “Seize the day.”

Today, the age-old advice still holds true. It serves as a gentle reminder to embrace the present, tackle challenges head-on, and cultivate success when conditions are favorable. 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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Cowboy Sayings - It’s Raining Cats and Dogs

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“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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Cowboy Sayings - Every Dog Has His Day

 

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“Boy everything seems to be going right for you ever since you sang in church. You’re surely popular with the ladies.” One cowboy says to another.

The other cowboy answers with a shrug, “Well, every dog has his day.”

This saying goes back for thousands of years apparently, but wasn’t printed in English until Queen Elizabeth wrote it in a letter back in the 1500’s. Then it was printed again in a sixteenth century book of Proverbs, and even used in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. So athough it was used for a very long time, it was also popular among cowboys in the 1800’s and is occasionally used today.

It is often used to express someone getting their 15 minutes of fame or popularity. That everyone, even a dog can get a moment when it’s popular and paid attention to. It’s also sometimes used to express that even dogs are entitled to having a good day. So when you’re having an especially good day, are being complimented on your popularity, you might use this expression, too

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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Cowboy Sayings - That Clinches It

 

“That clinches it. I’m going with the red one over the blue.”

A horse’s hoof is much like a person’s fingernail. There’s a portion that is just keratin, and doesn’t have an active blood supply. This is called the hoof wall. When a farrier or horseshoer nails a shoe onto a horse’s foot, he makes sure the nails are beveled and set at an angle that ensures that the nail will remain in the hoof wall long enough to keep the horse shoe on, and that the nail comes out at the appropriate level on the hoof so that the horse doesn’t feel any pain in its hoof. If the nail goes into the wrong area, it is similar to the “quick” of our own nails and gets into the blood supply, causing the horse pain.

No farrier wants that. 

But once a farrier has decided that the nails in the horse’s foot are good, he clinches them in place to keep the nails from coming out or the shoe from being easily pulled off. In the same manner, when we are faced with a problem that has more than one option, we may waver between them, and become unsure of what decision to make. But sometimes things happen, or someone says something that helps us make a firm decision one way or the other. That’s when we know that our decision has been “clinched.”

In cowboy times, they would use this saying frequently and knew the meaning with surety, since horses and horseshoeing were a regular occurrence (about every other month horseshoes need replacing.) So the meaning may have become lost as horses were replaced with cars.

Over time, this saying has just became a commonplace way of saying that a choice has been made and is solidified. It indicates that a person has found a decisive or final piece of evidence or argument that settles a matter.

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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Cowboy Sayings - Barking Up the Wrong Tree

“My biscuit is missing. Did you eat it?”

“No I didn’t. You’re barking up the wrong tree.”

In early 1800’s America, fox hunting with a pack of dogs was a popular past time. The dogs would chase the prey and corner it or force it up a tree where it would get stuck. Then the hunters could come along and well… finish the job. Oftentimes, though, the dogs would get tricked by a wily fox, and head in the wrong direction, or even start following the wrong prey. Distracted dogs would start barking, and signifying to the hunter that they’ve trapped the fox, only for the hunter to arrive and find the dogs barking at a raccoon in a tree instead of a fox, or even a tree that was empty all together. Disappointed, the hunter would say the dog was barking up the wrong tree.

Over time, the saying became commonplace way of saying that a person has made a wrong choice, was asking the wrong person about their problem, or going the wrong direction. 

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