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There are many phrases that are used to politely (indirectly?) draw someone's attention to a potentially embarrassing aspect of their dress.

Some ask "Cat's died?" when they notice that the bottoms of your trouser legs don't seem hang down as far they are normally expected to be worn.

There are several possible explanations for the origin of this expression:

By saying 'Cat's died?' they are implying that you are deliberately wearing your trousers ...

  1. ... at 'half-mast', like a flag1 (because your cats have died!), whereas, in reality, they are actually calling indirect attention to the fact that your trousers seem unusually short and that you may wish to correct this 'dress malfunction' sometime!
  2. ... with their hems further up from the ground because ... your your cat used to catch all the mice, but now your cat is dead, the mice abound and could run up your trouser leg, given the chance.

NOTE

1. A flag is traditionally flown at half-mast as a mark of respect when someone has died.

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Q: Why do people say your cats have died when your trousers are short at the hem?
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Where did the term raining cats and dogs come from?

Raining Cats and DogsThe Origin is unknown - possible explanations are shown below: Most Popular theory holds that in old England, they had hay roofs on their houses and the cats and dogs would sleep on the roof. When it rained, the roofs got slippery and the cats and dogs would slide off of the roofs. Therefore, it was "Raining Cats and Dogs".Additional InputThe archaic French catdoupe is a waterfall or cataract and broken up could sound like 'cat/dog'Lightning and thunder sounds like that of a cat/dog fight"raining cats and dogs" came from the middle ages, when houses had thatched roofs. To keep warm lots of animals would hide in the roofs when it was raining and sometimes fell through the flimsy roofs on to the streets below.I do believe the idiom "Rain Cats and Dogs" stems from the Norse Mythology. Cats were believed to represent the wind and dogs represented rain. Different animals represented different weather and natural phenomenon. The sky dog Odin was attended to by wolves according to Norse Mythology.For the Idiom "Rain Cats and Dogs" I have heard one other explanation. In old England when people's cats and dogs died they would simply throw them into the gutter or alley with the garbage. If a strong enough rain came through it would flood the gutters and alleys to the point where all the dead cats and dogs would begin to float down the streets. Therefore very harsh rains were associated with cats and dogs.


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