Pig in a poke
Apig in a pokeis a thing that is bought without first being inspected, and thus of unknown authenticity or quality.[1]Theidiomis attested in 1555:
I wyll neuer bye the pyg in the poke |
I will never buy the pig in the poke |
A "poke" is a sack, so the image is of a concealed item being sold.
Starting in the 19th century, this idiom was explained as aconfidence trickwhere a farmer would substitute a cat for a suckling pig when bringing it to market. When the buyer discovered the deception, he was said to "let the cat out of the bag", that is, to learn of something unfortunate prematurely,[3]hence the expression "letting the cat out of the bag",[4]meaningto reveal that which is secret.[5]The French idiomacheter (un) chat en pocheand the Dutcheen kat in de zak kopenand also the Germandie Katze im Sack kaufen(all: to buy a cat in a bag) refer to an actualscamof this nature, as do many other European equivalents, while the English expression refers to the appearance of the trick.[5]The English idiom "sold a pup" refers to a similar con.[6]Other variations include "buy a fish in water" (Arabic), "buy a cow on another mountain" (Chinese), "buy in a closed box" (Italian) and "buy a cat instead of a hare" (Iberian languages).
Incommon law,buyers have the right to inspect goods before purchase.[7][8]
Etymology
[edit]Apokeis a sack or bag, from Frenchpoque,which is also the etymon of "pocket","pouch",and"poach".[9]Pokeis still in regional use. Pigs were formerly brought to market for sale in a cloth bag, a poke.
Use in popular culture
[edit]In the April 1929 edition of the literary magazineThe London Aphrodite,a story byRhys Davies,titled "A Pig in a Poke", was published, in which a Welsh coal miner takes a woman from London for his wife and regrets it.[10]
In the 1985 filmNational Lampoon's European Vacation,the Griswold family wins the vacation on a game show called "Pig in a Poke".
See also
[edit]
Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Oxford English Dictionary,3rd Edition, 2006s.v.'pig' P4
- ^Heywood, John(1555).Two hundred Epigrammes, vpon two hundred prouerbes, with a thyrde hundred newly added.Archived fromthe originalon 11 Mar 2021.
- ^Turton, William."Origines Zoologicæ, or Zoological Recollections".Magazine of Natural History and Journal of Zoology, Botany, Mineralogy, Geology and Meteorology.7:326.
- ^Let the cat out of the bagonTheidioms.com
- ^abBrewer,Dictionary of Phrase and Fable,1898.
- ^Symons, Mitchell (2 October 2014).There Are Tittles in This Title: The Weird World of Words.Michael O'Mara Books. pp. 34–35.ISBN9781782432715.
- ^Gardiner v. Gray,1815: nocaveat emptorprinciple applies where there has been no opportunity to inspect goods.
- ^Sale of Goods Act 1979
- ^Oxford English Dictionary,3rd Edition,s.v.v.
- ^Boulton, James T.,ed. (1993).The Letters of D.H. Lawrence. Volume VII: November 1928 – February 1930.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bibliography
[edit]- E. Cobham Brewer,Dictionary of Phrase and Fable.1898.
- Funk, Charles Earle,A Hog on Ice: & Other Curious Expressions.HarperResource, 2002.ISBN0-06-051329-2.