Medieval people loved to talk about cats and dogs, and they came up with many fun phrases about them. Here are thirty of these charming sayings.
These sayings come from late medieval England and can be found in the works of writers like Geoffrey Chaucer and John Lydgate. Many were first noted by John Heywood (c.1497-1578), one of the first great collectors of English proverbs.
As clean as cats had licked him.
While the whelp plays, the old dog grins.
As stone-still as two cats.
Two dogs are stronger to take a wolf than a dog alone.
A cat falls on its feet.
To be unable to give a dog a loaf.
The cat fiddles the mouse a dance.
A small group of cats, and a mouse – British Library MS Harley 4751 fol. 30v
No more trust than in a dog’s tail.
A cat may look at a king.
Hungry dogs will eat dirty puddings.
A cat that has a good skin shall be flayed.
The feeblest hounds bark most.
The cat would eat fish but would not wet its feet.
As fast as a dog will lick a dish.
A greyhound can be seen here. British Library MS Royal II. E. XI. fol. 2
One cannot give the cat so much but that she will wag her tail.
The hound returns to his vomit.
A singed cat dwells at home.
To agree like two cats in a gutter.
To see like a cat in the night.
It becomes not a dog to bear a saddle.
Who shall find a cat true in keeping milk?
It is hard to make an old dog stoop.
Little and little, the cat eats the bacon.
Not help more than a dog whelp.
To keep no more of the cat than her skin.
The mouse goes abroad where the cat is not lord.
White cat and a mouse. British Library MS Stowe 17, fol. 129v
A hound is one’s best friend.
What may the mouse do against the cat?
A potful of milk must be kept well from the cat.
Hound and cat kiss, but they are not the better friends.
Medieval people loved to talk about cats and dogs, and they came up with many fun phrases about them. Here are thirty of these charming sayings.
These sayings come from late medieval England and can be found in the works of writers like Geoffrey Chaucer and John Lydgate. Many were first noted by John Heywood (c.1497-1578), one of the first great collectors of English proverbs.
As clean as cats had licked him.
While the whelp plays, the old dog grins.
As stone-still as two cats.
Two dogs are stronger to take a wolf than a dog alone.
A cat falls on its feet.
To be unable to give a dog a loaf.
The cat fiddles the mouse a dance.
No more trust than in a dog’s tail.
A cat may look at a king.
Hungry dogs will eat dirty puddings.
A cat that has a good skin shall be flayed.
The feeblest hounds bark most.
The cat would eat fish but would not wet its feet.
As fast as a dog will lick a dish.
One cannot give the cat so much but that she will wag her tail.
The hound returns to his vomit.
A singed cat dwells at home.
To agree like two cats in a gutter.
To see like a cat in the night.
It becomes not a dog to bear a saddle.
Who shall find a cat true in keeping milk?
It is hard to make an old dog stoop.
Little and little, the cat eats the bacon.
Not help more than a dog whelp.
To keep no more of the cat than her skin.
The mouse goes abroad where the cat is not lord.
A hound is one’s best friend.
What may the mouse do against the cat?
A potful of milk must be kept well from the cat.
Hound and cat kiss, but they are not the better friends.
You can find these sayings, and many more, in Proverbs, Sentences, and Proverbial Phrases From English Writings mainly before 1500, by Bartlett Jere Whitting.
See also: 35 Medieval Expressions Invented by Chaucer
Top Image: British Library MS Harley 4751, fol.48
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