Raining cats and dogs

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

The English-language idiom "raining cats and dogs" or "raining dogs and cats" is used to describe particularly heavy rain. It is of unknown etymology and is not necessarily related to the raining animals phenomenon. The phrase (with "polecats" instead of "cats") has been used at least since the 17th century.

Etymology

A number of possible etymologies have been put forward to explain the phrase.

One possible explanation involves the drainage systems on buildings in 17th-century Europe, which were poor and may have disgorged their contents, including the corpses of any animals that had accumulated in them, during heavy showers. This occurrence is described in Jonathan Swift's 1710 poem "Description of a City Shower":

Drowned puppies, stinking sprats, all drenched in mud,
Dead cats and turnip-tops come tumbling down the flood.

Another explanation is that "cats and dogs" may be a corruption of the Greek word Katadoupoi, referring to the waterfalls on the Nile, possibly through the old French word catadupe ('waterfall'). In old English, catadupe meant a cataract or waterfall.

It has been suggested that "Cats and dogs" may come from the Greek expression kata doxa, which means "contrary to experience or belief"; if it is raining cats and dogs, it is raining unusually hard. However there is no evidence to support the theory that the expression was borrowed by English speakers.

An online rumor largely circulated through email claimed that, in 16th-century Europe, animals could crawl into the thatch of peasant homes to seek shelter from the elements and would fall out during heavy rain. However, no evidence has been found in support of the claim.

There may not be a logical explanation; the phrase may have been used just for its nonsensical humor value, or to describe particularly heavy rainfall, like other equivalent English expressions ("raining pitchforks", "raining hammer handles").

Equivalent expressions in other languages

Other languages have equally bizarre expressions for heavy rain.

Language	Expression	English translation
Afan Oromo	Waaqatu baqaqe	the sky got torn
Afrikaans	dit reën ou meide/vrouens/anties met knopkieries	it's raining old tribal women/women/aunts with knobsticks
	dit reën paddas en platannas	it's raining frogs and toads
Albanian	po bie litarë-litarë	[rain] is falling like ropes
	po bën Zoti shurrën	God is taking a piss
	po qan Zoti	God is crying
Bengali	মুষলধারে বৃষ্টি পড়ছে musholdhare brishṭi poṛchhe	rain is falling like pestles
Bosnian	padaju ćuskije	crowbars dropping
	lije ko iz kabla	it's pouring like from a bucket
Cantonese	落狗屎	it's raining dog's poo
Chinese	傾盆大雨/倾盆大雨 qīngpén dàyǔ	it's pouring out of basins
Catalan	ploure a bots i barrals	raining boats and barrels
Croatian	padaju sjekire	axes dropping
Czech	padají trakaře	falling wheelbarrows
	leje jako z konve	rains like from a watering can
Danish	regner skomagerdrenge	raining shoemakers' apprentices
Dutch	het regent pijpenstelen	raining pipe stems (or stair rods)
Dutch (Flemish)	het regent oude wijven	raining old women
	het regent kattenjongen	raining kittens
Estonian	sajab nagu oavarrest	raining like from a beanstalk
	kallab nagu ämbrist	raining as if poured from a bucket
Finnish	sataa kuin Esterin perseestä	raining like from Esteri's ass
	sataa kuin saavista kaatamalla	raining as if poured from a bucket
French	il pleut comme vache qui pisse	raining like a peeing cow
	il pleut des seaux	raining buckets
	il pleut des hallebardes	raining halberds
	il pleut des clous	raining nails
	il pleut des cordes	raining ropes
	il pleut à boire debout	raining enough to drink standing
Georgian	კოკისპირული წვიმა kokispiruli tsvima	raining like water flows from a filled koka(koka: 'water measuring tableware, jar')
German	es regnet junge Hunde	raining young dogs
	es schüttet wie aus Eimern	raining like poured from buckets
	es regnet Bindfäden	raining strings
Greek	βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα vréchei kareklopódara	raining chair legs
Hebrew	גשם זלעפות	stormy/raging rain
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
Latin	urceatim pluebat	it rained 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
Maltese	infetħu bwieb is-sema	the doors of the sky have opened
Marathi	मुसळधार पाउस	rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]
Nepali	मुसलधारे झरी	rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]
Norwegian	det regner trollkjerringer	raining she-trolls
	det snør kattunger	it's snowing kittens
Odia	ମୂଷଳଧାରା ବର୍ଷା	rain like a pestle [onto a mortar]
Persian	شغال باران shoqal baran	raining jackals
Polish	leje jak z cebra	pouring like from a bucket
	rzuca żabami	[the rain/it] is throwing frogs
Portuguese	está chovendo canivetes	raining penknives
	está chovendo a potes	raining by the pot load
	está chovendo a baldes	raining by the bucket load
	está chovendo a cântaros	raining by the pitcher load
	está chovendo a canecos	raining by the jug load
	está a chover chouriços	it's raining chorizos
Portuguese (Brazil)	chovem cobras e lagartos	raining snakes and lizards
	está caindo um pau-d'água	a stick of water is falling
	está caindo um pé-d'água	a foot of water is falling
Punjabi	ਨਿਆਣੇ-ਕੁੱਟ ਮੀਂਹ	rain that beats kids
Romanian	plouă cu broaşte	raining frogs
	plouă de sparge	breaking with rain
	plouă cu găleata	raining from a bucket
Russian	льет как из ведра	it's pouring like from a bucket
Scottish Gaelic	an t-uisge cho garbh ris na faochagan	the rain as rough as whelks
	an dìle bhàite	the drowning deluge
Serbian	padaju sekire	axes are falling
	pada kao iz kabla	pouring like from a bucket
Sinhalese	නාකපන්න වහිනවා	raining cats and dogs
Spanish	están lloviendo chuzos de punta	shortpikes/icicles point first
	está lloviendo a cántaros	raining by the clay pot-full
	está cayendo la del pulpo	(the rain) is hitting us like they hit an octopus
	llueven sapos y culebras	raining toads and snakes
Spanish (Argentina)	caen soretes de punta	pointing down turds are falling
Spanish (Colombia)	estan lloviendo maridos	raining husbands
Spanish (Venezuela)	está cayendo un palo de agua	a stick of water is falling
Swedish	det regnar smådjävlar	raining little devils
	det regnar småspik	raining small nails
	regnet står som spön i backen	the rain stands like canes on the ground
	skyfall	sky fall
Tamil	பேய் மழை pei mazhi	ghost rain
Telugu	కుండపోత వర్షం	pouring like an inverted pot
Thai	ฝนตกไม่ลืมหูลืมตา fon dtok mai lʉʉm huu lʉʉm dtaa	raining without opening its eyes and ears
Turkish	bardaktan boşanırcasına	raining like poured from a cup
Ukrainian	лиє, як з відра	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	raining old ladies and sticks

See also

• English-language idioms
• Rain of animals