A few days ago, we delved into the curious origins and meaning of the phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat’. That got us thinking about another popular feline phrase, ‘it’s raining cats and dogs’. We all know the rough meaning of the phrase: namely, if it’s raining cats and dogs, it’s […]
‘Curiosity killed the cat’ is a well-known phrase that is found repeatedly in English (and Anglophone) literature. The meaning of ‘curiosity killed the cat’ is easy to summarise: don’t go poking your nose into other people’s affairs, and don’t be overly inquisitive about things which don’t concern you, as it […]
The literary origin of the expression ‘swings and roundabouts’ in a forgotten poem Where does the phrase ‘swings and roundabouts’ originate? It’s widely believed that it had its origins in a little-known poem by Irish writer Patrick Reginald Chalmers (1872-1942). Chalmers was a banker as well as a poet, and he […]