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Thursday, May 8, 2008

It's Raining Cats and Dogs

It's been raining hard for three days, and we even had some tornado warnings yesterday. Things are getting a bit soggy underfoot. The flagstone patio is holding puddles of water, and big drops of rain are falling from the trees. Here's a picture of the Deep Fork River near our farm. It's running over the banks again and flooding for miles. Fortunately our house isn't in any danger, but can you imagine living next to this? Pretty muddy, but good for fishing.

My Boy says it's been raining cats and dogs. Well, I don't know about that as I haven't seen any cats or dogs falling from the sky. I think he's making that part up, but wouldn't it be funny to see big German Shepherds, little fluffy pooches, calicos and tabbies all falling tip over teakettle and landing with a splash? Okies sure have a funny way of talking.

When I looked this expression up, here's what I found:

It's Raining Cats and Dogs
Meaning: A torrential downpour.

Origins: Several theories exist about the origins of this phrase. One from the seventeenth century England suggests that heavy rains caused flooding and, sadly, carried the floating bodies of dead dogs and cats along the streets. Not sure I really like this explanation, I can tell you. Some others suggested that dogs and cats who happened to be on the roofs of houses would fall through the wet thatch. Silly idea, why would a dog be on a roof? Cats, yes, but dogs? Another theory links this expression to mythology and superstition. It was believed cats had influence over weather. Perhaps this connection came from a belief that witches, who rode the wind, sometimes took the form of cats. Dogs were attendants of Odin, the storm god, so sailors used to associate dogs with storms.

Here are some other funny dog expressions we hear around these parts...

The Hair of the Dog That Bit You -- A pick-me-up alcoholic beverage you down in the morning after an indulgent night of drinking.

Go to the Dogs -- To fall into disrepair, or to otherwise deteriorate in quality.

Barking Up the Wrong Tree -- To be off course, or to search for something in the wrong place. Cap does this alot when he forgets where he left his squeakie.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie -- It's best to leave well enough alone.

The Dog Days of Summer -- The hottest time of the year, usually July through August hereabouts.

I'm sure there are other doggy expressions, but these are the first ones I thought of, and we hear them alot here in Oklahoma. What expressions do you hear in your part of the world?
~Tell

10 comments:

Girl Girl Hamster said...

It rained a little last nite at my side but it's still very hot here

~ Girl girl

Noah the Airedale said...

G'day maties
Great post. Here are a couple more sayings:
Barking.....means mad.
Dogs Breakfast...means a complete mess.
Dog's eye...aussie slang for meat pie.

Hugs and tail wags
Noah Willow Tess Lucy

Molly the Airedale said...

Wow! You guys are getting some serious rain! We sure hope it stops for you soon!

Love ya lots,
Maggie and Mitch

Eric said...

Hi Tell. Paw you, all that rain, not much fun.I'd be inside all the time, be kind of risky outside if it's raining cats and dogs, one might hit you right on your noddle!! Tee, hee...

Here are a couple of expressions for you . .

Dogs DINNER = a mess. I see Down Under they say BREAKFAST!

Look the Cats Whiskers! = to look pawfect

Wiry wags, Eric

Buster the Wired Fox Terror said...

When my Mom goes out places to make speeches, she says she is taking the Dog and Pony Show on the road.

Then there's dog tired, my dogs are barking (my feet hurt).

Bussie Kissies
Buster

Jackson's J1 and J2 said...

What a great post! Erm, I can't think of any others off the top of my head though. Hehehe! J x

Agatha and Archie said...

Quite infornative!! We can't think of any more either....wait did anyone say dog tired??Love A+A

Asta Marie said...

Hello Tell....interesting sayings and we hear them around here too.... I can see you were very studious to look them all up....can't think of any that you didn't already cover but I will keep thinkin' on it. Too bad about the rain...we are getting a lot right now too but the lettuce and spinach loves it....they're growin' like crazy now....

Asta Marie, WFT

Princess Patches said...

Hi Tell, we hope your rain stops soon! We're glad your house is safe...so many tornados across the country! We have had a lot of rain too, but we need it desparately! Now, it's so windy that it might blow a small dog away!

Aire-hugs,
Poppy & Penny

Koobuss said...

Wow!! You've certainly had enough rain for a while. Hope it stops soon and that all of you are safe and that you have no damage or loss of property.

Hang in there!

Best of luck,
Love and Koobuss Kisses,
Koobie