It was mentioned in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: The expression, with its earlier meaning, was still being used in 1898. The expression ‘curiosity killed the cat’, however, is fairly recent. It was later used by the famous playwright William Shakespeare in the following year in Much Ado About Nothing: “What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.” “Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care’ll kill a Cat, up-tails all, and a Louse for the Hangman.” The expression finds its first recorded mention in the English playwright Ben Jonson’s play Every Man in His Humour, 1598: By ‘care’ the person who coined the expression meant ‘worry/sorrow’ rather than ‘take care of/look after’. The phrase ‘curiosity’ is developed from an older phrase, ‘care killed the cat’. In Saint Augustine’s ‘Confessions’ written way back in AD 397 it is written that eons before creating heaven and earth, God “fashioned hell for the inquisitive”. The word ‘curious’ has never been a crowd favorite. The expression even while mentioning ‘curiosity’ is aimed at the prying nature of people and how it can lead to harm, either for themselves or others. The difference between curiosity and prying needs to be taken into consideration. Think of the expression as a way to stop people from thinking about or exploring potentially risky situations that they know little about. The expression is used to warn people about the dangers of unnecessary investigation and dangerous situations. The phrase is used to warn them that their curiosity and inquisitiveness can have a harmful result and can put people in dangerous situations. ‘Curiosity Killed The Cat’ is an expression used as a warning for someone who is overly curious. Meaning Behind ‘Curiosity Killed The Cat’ Oh, and the phrase isn’t as violent as it appears to be – after all, cats do have nine lives. ![]() This commonly used phrase requires an understanding of the context of when it should be used. What Does ‘Curiosity Killed The Cat’ Mean?Įveryone has heard the phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat’ – but what does it mean? What is the significance of this particular phrase? Let’s take a look.
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