Raining cats and dogs

A 19th-century cartoon by English artist George Cruikshank illustrating the phrase "raining cats and dogs" (and "pitchforks")

The English idiom "it is raining cats and dogs", used to describe particularly heavy rain, is of unknown etymology and is not necessarily related to the raining animals phenomenon.^[1] The phrase (with "polecats" instead of "cats") has been used at least since the 17th century.^[2][3] A number of possible etymologies have been put forward to explain the phrase; for example:^[4]

• Drainage systems on buildings in 17th-century Europe were poor and may have disgorged their contents during heavy showers, including the corpses of any animals that had accumulated in them. This occurrence is documented in Jonathan Swift's 1710 poem "Description of a City Shower", in which he describes "Drowned puppies, stinking sprats, all drenched in mud,/Dead cats and turnip-tops come tumbling down the flood."^[5]
• "Cats and dogs" may be a corruption of the Greek word Katadoupoi, referring to the waterfalls on the Nile,^[1] possibly through the old French word catadupe ('waterfall'). In old English, catadupe meant a cataract or waterfall.
• "Cats and dogs" may come from the Greek expression cata doxa, which means “contrary to experience or belief,” but there is no evidence to support the theory that it was borrowed by English speakers.^[1] If it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining unusually or unbelievably hard.

In addition to at least one folk etymology:

• An "explanation" widely circulated by email claimed that in 16th-century Europe, when peasant homes were commonly thatched, animals could crawl into the thatch to find shelter from the elements and would fall out during heavy rain. However, there seems to be no evidence in support of either assertion.^[6]

There may not be a logical explanation; the phrase may have been used just for its nonsensical humor value, like other equivalent English expressions ("it is raining pitchforks", "hammer handles", etc.).

Other languages have equally bizarre expressions for heavy rain:^[7][8]

• Afan Oromo: Waaqatu baqaqe ('the sky got torn')
• Afrikaans: ou vrouens met knopkieries reën ('raining old women with clubs')
• Albanian: po bie litarë-litarë ('[rain] is falling ropes-ropes'), ('is falling like ropes')
• Albanian: po bën Zoti shurrën ('God is taking a piss')
• Albanian: po qan Zoti ('God is crying')
• Bengali: মুষলধারে বৃষ্টি পড়ছে musholdhare brishṭi poṛchhe ('rain is falling like pestles')
• Bosnian: padaju ćuskije ('crowbars dropping')
• Bosnian: lije ko iz kabla ('it's pouring like from a bucket')
• Cantonese: 落狗屎 ('It's raining dog's poo')
• Chinese: 倾盆大雨 (qīngpén dàyǔ) ('its pouring out of basins')
• Catalan: ploure a bots i barrals ('boats and barrels')
• Croatian: padaju sjekire ('axes dropping')
• Czech: padají trakaře ('wheelbarrows')
• Czech: leje jako z konve ('like from a watering can')
• Danish: det regner skomagerdrenge ('shoemakers' apprentices')
• Dutch: het regent pijpenstelen ('It's raining pipe stems (or stair rods)')
• Dutch (Flemish): het regent oude wijven ('It's raining old women')
• Dutch (Flemish): het regent kattenjongen ('It's raining kittens')
• Estonian: sajab nagu oavarrest ('It's raining like from a beanstalk')
• Finnish: sataa kuin Esterin perseestä ('It's raining like from Esteri's ass')
• Finnish: sataa kuin saavista kaatamalla ('It's raining as if poured from a bucket')
• French: il pleut comme vache qui pisse ('it is raining like a peeing cow')
• French: il pleut des seaux ('it's raining buckets')
• French: il pleut des hallebardes ('it is raining halberds', clous ('nails'), or cordes ('ropes'))
• Georgian: კოკისპირული წვიმა – [kokispiruli tsvima] ('like water flows from a filled koka')(koka: 'water measuring tableware, jar')
• German: es regnet junge Hunde ('young dogs') or es schüttet wie aus Eimern ('like poured from buckets')
• Greek: βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα ('chair legs')
• Hebrew: גשם זלעפות ('rain of anxiety')
• Hindi: मुसलधार बारिश (musaldhār bārish) ('rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]')
• Hungarian: mintha dézsából öntenék ('like poured from a vat')
• Icelandic: Það rignir eins og hellt sé úr fötu ('like poured from a bucket')
• Japanese: 土砂降り (doshaburi) ('earth and sand descending')
• Kannada: ಮುಸಲಧಾರೆ, ಕುಂಭದ್ರೋಣ ಮಳೆ ('a stream of mallets')
• Italian: piove a catinelle ('poured from a basin')
• Latvian: līst kā no spaiņiem ('it's raining like from buckets')
• Lithuanian: pila kaip iš kibiro ('it's pouring like from a bucket')
• Malayalam: പേമാരി pemari ('mad rain')
• Marathi: मुसळधार पाउस ('rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]')
• Nepali: मुसलधारे झरी ('rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]')
• Norwegian: det regner trollkjerringer ('she-trolls')
• Odia: ମୂଷଳଧାରା ବର୍ଷା ('rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]')
• Persian: شغال باران (shoqal baran)
• Polish: leje jak z cebra ('it's pouring like from a bucket')
• Portuguese: chovem or está chovendo/a chover canivetes ('penknives')
• Portuguese: chove a potes/baldes ('it is raining by the pot/bucket load')
• Portuguese: chove a cântaros/canecos ('it is raining by the jug load')
• Portuguese (Brazil): chovem cobras e lagartos ('snakes and lizards')
• Portuguese (Brazil): está caindo um pau-d'água ('a stick of water is falling')
• Portuguese (Brazil): está caindo um pé-d'água ('a foot of water is falling')
• Romanian: plouă cu broaşte ('raining frogs')
• Romanian: plouă de sparge (breaking with rain)
• Romanian: plouă cu găleata ('from a bucket')
• Russian: льет как из ведра ('from a bucket')
• Serbian: padaju sekire ('axes are falling')
• Serbian: pada kao iz kabla ('it's pouring like from a bucket')
• Sinhalese: නාකපන්න වහිනවා ('it's raining cats and dogs')
• Spanish: están lloviendo chuzos de punta ('shortpikes/icicles point first' - not only is it raining a lot, but it's so cold and windy that being hit by the drops hurts)
• Spanish: está lloviendo a cántaros ('by the clay pot-full')
• Spanish: llueven sapos y culebras ('toads and snakes')
• Spanish (Argentina): caen soretes de punta ('pieces of dung head-first')
• Spanish (Venezuela): está cayendo un palo de agua ('a stick of water is falling')
• Spanish (Colombia): estan lloviendo maridos ('it's raining husbands')
• Swedish: det regnar smådjävlar ('It is raining little devils')
• Swedish: det regnar småspik ('It is raining small nails')
• Swedish: regnet står som spön i backen ('the rain stands like canes hitting the ground')
• Tamil: பேய் மழை pei mazhi ('ghost rain')
• Telugu: కుండపోత వర్షం ('pouring like an inverted pot')
• Turkish: bardaktan boşanırcasına ('like poured from a cup')
• Ukrainian: лиє, як з відра ('it's pouring like from a bucket')
• Urdu: موسلادھار بارش ('rain like a pestle [on a mortar]')
• Vietnamese: mưa như trút nước ('raining as pouring a lot of water')
• Welsh: mae hi'n bwrw hen wragedd a ffyn ('old ladies and sticks')

References[]