Curiosity killed the cat !
By tudors
@tudors (1556)
China
February 15, 2009 1:59am CST
Our modern saying "curiosity killed the cat" is a spin-off of an old saying that actually had nothing at all to do with a cat's natural tendency to snoop. The saying, as it was worded in the 16th century, was "care kills a cat." The statement meant that cats seemed to be very cautious and careful creatures, indicating to their owners that cats worried pretty much about everything.
Too much anxiety, then as now, can be bad for our health, and can even send us to an early grave. A cat could be killed by excessive "Care", as could a human. Over the years, the meaning of the word "care" shifted and changed. The word "curiosity" was then substituted in the phrase as a trait that got both people and cats into trouble sometimes. It was often quoted to snoops as a polite way to tell them to mind their own biz.
1 response
@SKLC_PT (1234)
•
15 Feb 09
It's quite funny where things come from such as saying bless you when someone sneezed was because people believed your soul would jump out your body and for it to go back you would have to say bless you, funny how things change or we do them without knowing why. I told a guy on how the origens of some superstitions and traditions and he didn't want to believe me, guess he didn't want to know how silly some of the things started cause it made him feel silly doing them.
