For other uses, see Pig in a poke (disambiguation).
A pig in a poke is a thing that is bought without first being inspected, and thus of unknown authenticity or quality.[1] The idiom is attested in 1555:
I wyll neuer bye the pyg in the poke
Thers many a foule pyg in a feyre cloke[2]
I will never buy the pig in the poke
There's many a foul pig in a fair cloak
A "poke" is a sack, so the image is of a concealed item being sold.
Starting in the 19th century, this idiom was explained as a confidence trick where a farmer would substitute a cat for a suckling pig when bringing it to market. When the buyer discovered the deception, he was said to "let the cat out of the bag", that is, to learn of something unfortunate prematurely, [3] hence the expression "letting the cat out of the bag",[4] meaning to reveal that which is secret.[5] The French idiom acheter (un) chat en poche and the Dutch een kat in de zak kopen and also the German die Katze im Sack kaufen (all: to buy a cat in a bag) refer to an actual scam of this nature, as do many other European equivalents, while the English expression refers to the appearance of the trick.[5] The English idiom "sold a pup" refers to a similar con.[6] Other variations include "buy a fish in water" (Arabic), "buy a cow on another mountain" (Chinese), "buy in a closed box" (Italian) and "buy a cat instead of a hare" (Iberian languages).
In common law, buyers have the right to inspect goods before purchase.[7][8]
^Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd Edition, 2006 s.v. 'pig' P4
^Heywood, John (1555). Two hundred Epigrammes, vpon two hundred prouerbes, with a thyrde hundred newly added. Archived from the original on 11 Mar 2021.
^Turton, William. "Origines Zoologicæ, or Zoological Recollections". Magazine of Natural History and Journal of Zoology, Botany, Mineralogy, Geology and Meteorology. 7: 326.
^Let the cat out of the bag on Theidioms.com
^ abBrewer, Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, 1898.
^Symons, Mitchell (2 October 2014). There Are Tittles in This Title: The Weird World of Words. pp. 34–35. ISBN 9781782432715.
^Gardiner v. Gray, 1815 : no caveat emptor principle applies where there has been no opportunity to inspect goods.
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