Pig in a Poke, Cat in a Sack, Fish in Water, ...

[Speakeasy]

For some reason, "monster in a sack" doesn't sound as good as "pocket monster".

Bold text and underling applied for emphasis. How about "monster in the sack"? Sorry, I simply couldn't resist! Still, is it not odd how the simple change of an article can radically change the meaning of this phrase?

[Ogrim]

I've heard that the expression "Cat in a Sack" comes from the medieval stories about Till Eulenspiegel, a trickster who appears in Middle Low German folklore. I have a Kindle edition of the Till Eulenspiegel stories, and one of them is called "Wie Eulenspiegel eine Katze als lebendigen Hasen verkaufte (How Eulenspiegel sold a cat as (if it were) a live hare.) That corresponds totally to the Spanish "dar gato por liebre". In the story, he actually puts the cat into the skin of a hare. The whole story can be found here in German.

Stories about tricksters or what in Spanish is called pícaros were common throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, and most likely the Eulenspiegel stories will have travelled as well across language barriers. Back then this was an oral tradition, where people would re-tell fun stories they heard on their travels, and the expression "cat in a sack" may well have been spread this way.

[dgc1970]

I wonder how many countries have a version of Knock Knock jokes. Specifically, as soon as somebody says "Knock, knock" you automatically know you are supposed to reply with "Who's there?".

[reineke]

Don't buy a pig in a poke" leads to the mention of some curious philological facts :—

" A poke is a pouch or bag. This word, which is still current in the northern counties of England, corresponds to the French poche, as pocket' does to the diminutive poochette. Bouge and bougette are other forma of the same word ; and from these we get budget,' which, curiously enough, has gone back from us to its original owners with a newly-acquired meaning, for the French Minister of Finance presents his annual Budget like our own Chancellor of the Exchequer. The French say, Acheter chat en pooh° :' To buy a cat in a poke,' or game bag ; and the meaning of that proverb is explained by this other one, To buy a cat for a hare.' So also the Dutch, the Italian, d:c. The pig of the English proverb is chosen for the sake of the alliteration at some sacrifice of sense."
1859

http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/ ... s-and-popu

[aaleks]

I wonder how many countries have a version of Knock Knock jokes. Specifically, as soon as somebody says "Knock, knock" you automatically know you are supposed to reply with "Who's there?".

In Russian, thaks to the Простоквашино cartoon, is a bit longer version of that "knock, knock"