Everyone knows that, despite being gifted with nine lives, curiosity killed the cat. But there’s actually a bit more to the story…
The “killed the cat” proverb originated as “care killed the cat” (with care meaning “worry or sorrow”). It served as a warning that worry is generally bad for your health and can lead to an early grave. The phrase was a nod to the very cautious and careful disposition of cats.
This form of the expression is first recorded in Every Man in His Humour by the English playwright Ben Jonson:
“Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care’ll kill a Cat, up-tails all, and a Louse for the Hangman.”
The play is thought to have been performed in 1598 by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men, a troupe of actors including William Shakespeare and William Kempe. The following year, Shakespeare appropriated this memorable line in Much Ado About Nothing:
“What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.”
The earlier form was still in use in 1898, when it was defined in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable:
“Care killed the Cat. It is said that a cat has nine lives, but care would wear them all out.”
The more modern (and familiar) version, “curiosity killed the cat,” now used to encourage caution when investigating situations or to attempt to stop someone from asking unwanted questions, first appeared in print in 1909 in O. Henry’s Schools and Schools:
“Curiosity can do more things than kill a cat; and if emotions, well recognized as feminine, are inimical to feline life, then jealousy would soon leave the whole world catless.”
Still, the proverb has been widely (although not accurately) attributed to Eugene O’Neill who included it in his 1920 play Diff’rent. The full quote by O’Neill is, “Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.”
Perhaps this saying’s longevity and continued popularity is due to the fact that curiosity has not always been valued over the centuries. Saint Augustine wrote in Confessions, AD 397, that, in the eons before creating heaven and earth, God “fashioned hell for the inquisitive.” John Clarke, in Paroemiologia, 1639 suggested that, “He that pryeth into every cloud may be struck with a thunderbolt.” In Don Juan, Lord Byron dubbed curiosity, “that low vice.”
Being a curious soul, I respectfully beg to differ. Is curiosity a vice? Perhaps. But it’s certainly not one that I’m willing to give up anytime soon.
May your weekend be filled with curious happenings…and may no cats be killed in the process.
If you’re curious about other pet sayings, be sure to check out these previous posts.