Term Origin: Curiosity Killed the Cat

Do you ever just hear a word and wonder where or how it came about? Well we certainly do, that is why we will be doing a new series on our website/blog explaining the origins of certain terms.

Today we will be looking at a very fitting idiom, Curiosity Killed the Cat. First what does it mean, it is a figure of speech used to warn others of the dangers of unnecessary investigation.

Its first documented use was by British Play Write, Ben Jonson, in ‘Every Man in His Humor’ (1598). “…Helter skelter,hang sorrow,care will kill a cat, up-tails all, and a pox on the hangman.” A similar quote was used in none other than Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing a year later. “What courage man! What though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.”

Care in the context of the quote means worry, and cats are naturally very curious creatures. So worrying and looking too deeply into something may cause more harm than good.

How or when did the saying go from “Care Killed a Cat” to “Curiosity Killed the Cat”, well the idiom as we know it today was first published in an Irish Newspaper in 1868 which is 270 years later after its initial appearance in literature.

Fun fact the full variation of the proverb is: curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

Well it was very interesting going back into time to learn about the term, Curiosity Killed the Cat. Let us know if there are sayings, terms or proverbs that you would like us to explore the origins of.

~Stay Curious~