Exercise

1. What do you think let the cat out of the bag means?:

a) help someone to escape

b) attack someone

c) accidentally give away a secret

2. Where does the expression originally come from?

a) cheating a customer at a market

b) getting a bargain at a market

c) buying too many things at a market 

Answers

1. c

2. a

Read

You’re listening to British Council’s English Online and I’m Nina. Today on Language Snacks we take a look at the expression let the cat out of the bag. Let’s listen to the dialogue.

A: Can you keep a secret?

B: Oh yes, I love secrets! What is it?

A: I'm really nervous. I'm going to ask Sally to marry me tomorrow.

B: Oh, fantastic! Good luck!

A: Thanks, but remember you mustn't tell anyone at all. I want it to be a complete surprise.

B: Don't worry. I won't let the cat out of the bag.

There are lots of colourful idioms about animals in English, and although they might sound strange or funny to a foreigner, they are completely natural to a native speaker. This great expression means to disclose a secret, usually by mistake. People often say 'don't let the cat out of the bag' when they are sharing a secret.

The expression let the cat out of the bag probably comes from the days when people used to buy animals at markets. Sometimes, a market trader would put a cat in his bag and pretend it was a pig to cheat the customer! So, if someone let the cat out of the bag, the fraud or secret would be revealed.

And that’s it for now – join us again for some more Language Snacks.

You’ve been listening to English Online – the podcast for English learners in China.