Pig in a poke

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Pig-in-a-poke is an idiom that refers to a confidence trick originating in the Late Middle Ages, when meat was scarce but apparently rats and cats were not.

The scheme entailed the sale of a "suckling pig" in a "poke" (bag). The wriggling bag actually contained a cat—not particularly prized as a source of meat—that was sold unopened to the victim.

A common colloquial expression in the English language, to "buy a pig in a poke," is to make a risky purchase without inspecting the item beforehand. The phrase can also be applied to accepting an idea or plan without a full understanding of its basis. Similar expressions exist in other languages, most of them meaning to buy a cat in a bag, with some exceptions:

Language Phrase Translation
(if differs from the English phrase)
Croatian kupiti mačka u vreći to buy a cat in a sack
Czech koupit zajíce v pytli to buy a hare in a sack
Danish at købe katten i sækken
Dutch een kat in de zak kopen
French acheter chat en poche
Finnish ostaa sika säkissä
German die Katze im Sack kaufen to buy a cat in a sack
Greek αγοράζω γουρούνι στο σακί
Hebrew חתול בשק
Hungarian zsákbamacska
Icelandic að kaupa köttinn í sekknum
Latvian pirkt kaķi maisā
Lithuanian nusipirkti katę maiše
Norwegian kjøpe katta i sekken
Polish kupić kota w worku to buy a cat in a sack
Portuguese comer gato por lebre to eat cat for hare
Romanian a fi prins cu mâṭa în sac being caught with the cat in the bag
(i.e., caught while cheating or lying)
Russian купить кота в мешке to buy a cat in a sack
Spanish dar gato por liebre to give a cat instead of a hare
Serbian купити мачку у џаку to buy a cat in a sack
Slovak kúpiť mačku vo vreci to buy a cat in a sack
Slovene kupiti mačka v žaklju
Swedish köpa grisen i säcken

This may also be the origin of the expressions "Let the cat out of the bag"[1], meaning 'to reveal that which is secret'; and "left holding the bag," meaning 'to find oneself with nothing for their efforts,' as the cat is quite likely to flee when the bag is opened.

"Pig in a Poke" is a fictional game show in the 1985 comedy film National Lampoon's European Vacation (which was based on Family Feud, but had the families wear pig costumes).

[edit] References

  • Funk, Charles Earle. (2002). A Hog on Ice: & Other Curious Expressions. HarperResource. ISBN 0-06-051329-2
  • National Lampoons European Vacation - The tv game show the Griswalds played that won them the trip
  1. ^ Let the cat out of the bag