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What does raining cats and dogs mean?

Best Answers

The well-known antipathy between cats and dogs and their consequential fights has been suggested as a metaphor for stormy weather. That at least is a plausible theory. It pupports 'cats and dogs' to be an intensifier and that the expression means 'raining in a bad way'. read more

Another suggestion is that 'raining cats and dogs' comes from a version of the French word 'catadoupe', meaning waterfall. Again, no evidence. If the phrase were just 'raining cats', or even if there also existed a French word 'dogadoupe', we might be going somewhere with this one. read more

Therefore, “raining cats and dogs” may refer to a storm with wind (dogs) and heavy rain (cats). “Cats and dogs” may come from the Greek expression cata doxa, which means “contrary to experience or belief.” If it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining unusually or unbelievably hard. “Cats and dogs” may be a perversion of the now obsolete word catadupe. In old English, catadupe meant a cataract or waterfall. read more

It pupports 'cats and dogs' to be an intensifier and that the expression means 'raining in a bad way'. In truth, what was in the mind of whoever coined this expression is now lost to us. I have to admit defeat and say that I don't know the origin of this phrase. read more

Raining Cats and Dogs Meaning. Definition: Raining a lot; heavy precipitation. Origin of Raining Cats and Dogs. This expression became popular in the 1800s. However, this idiom has variations that occurred even earlier. There is a lot of speculation about the origin of this idiom. One morbid theory has more evidence than the others. read more

Note: There are several possible explanations for this expression, but none of them can be proved. read more

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