14 Common Sayings That Have a Bizarre Origin

5. Raining Cats and Dogs

Meaning:�Raining heavily or a torrential rain

Origin:�In the 1500s, people who lived in thatched roofs didn’t want their pets shitting in their homes and so they were always kept outside, but the animals would keep themselves warm in the thatching on the roofs.�When it rains, the animals would either get washed off of the roof or would come leaping down looking for better cover. Then townsfolk would look out their window, see pets falling from the sky, and proclaim it to be “raining cats and dogs.”

6. Piss Poor

Meaning: Very poor

Origin: In the old days, urine was used to tan animal hides.�Families would pee in one pot throughout the day and at the end of the day, when the pot was full of urine, it was sold�to the tannery.�This was how people who were very poor got nicknamed “piss poor.”

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Clare Whitfield Chief Editor

Clare Whitfield is the Editor of Stay at Home Mum and a recognised voice in practical home management for Australian families. Based in the northern suburbs of Sydney, she balances editorial leadership with life as a stay at home mum to two school age children. Her background in home economics and more than a decade of experience in recipe development, family budgeting, and household systems inform her work.

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