Why We Say It's 'Raining Cats and Dogs' When It's Literally Not

No matter how hard it's coming down, you know it's not literally raining dogs outside. So, why do we say it is? sarayut Thaneerat / Getty Images

If you've ever uttered the phrase, "It's raining cats and dogs," you may have thought it was a bizarre way to describe heavy rainfall. After all, it conjures images of cats and dogs tumbling from the sky. While cats and dogs may not literally be falling from the sky, they may have inspired the phrase.

Learn more about the possible origins of the saying and what the obsolete word "catadupe" has to do with raining unusually hard.

Possible Origins of 'Raining Cats and Dogs'

It's not entirely clear where the phrase "it's raining cats and dogs" originated, but there are a few theories. It might have come from Norse mythology. After all, wolves and dogs were the companions of Odin, the god of storms.

Another grim but popular theory is that it came from dead animals in 17th-century England. Since the streets weren't well-maintained, they flooded when there was heavy rain, leaving dead cats and dogs in its wake.

Sounds Like...

It may have come from yet another expression. The Greek expression "cata doxa" means "contrary to belief" or "unexpectedly." However, it's hard to determine how this would have given way to "cats and dogs."

Or, it could have come from the now obsolete word "catadupe," which means waterfall in Old English and described heavy rain. As you can see, it's difficult to tell who had first dibs on the "raining cats and dogs" metaphor.

It Probably Wasn't a Thatched Roof

Another theory that is easier to debunk is that the term originated from the cats and dogs that "used to cuddle into thatched roofs" during storms and that were later washed out. However, as the Library of Congress states, a thatch roof is "naturally water resistant and slanted to allow water to run off."

There goes that theory.

Jonathan Swift's (Possible) Impact

In Swift's "A Complete Collection of Genteel and Ingenious Conversation," one character believes it'll rain cats and dogs, which might have been a catchier phrase than what other British writers used to describe heavy rains like "raining pitchforks."

That said, Jonathan Swift was not the first writer to reference cats and dogs or similar phrases.

For example, in "Olor Iscanus," published in 1651, British poet Henry Vaughan writes, "dogs and cats rained in shower." In 1652, English playwright Richard Brome's comedy "City Witt," stated: "It shall rain dogs and polecats."

3 Examples of 'Raining Cats and Dogs'

Today, people use "raining cats and dogs" in everyday language to describe particularly heavy rainfall. Here are a few ways to use the phrase.

Describing weather: "Did you bring an umbrella? It's raining cats and dogs outside!" Here, someone is warning their friend that the rain is more than just a drizzle, making an umbrella necessary.
Travel plans: "We wanted to go hiking, but it started raining cats and dogs, so we'll have to wait." In this context, the phrase shows that the rain was strong enough to change plans.
Historical anecdotes: Someone might say, "It was like those old stories of England in the 1700s, raining cats and dogs and flooding the streets." Here, the phrase connects a modern scene with the possible origins of the idiom.

We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor.