Lexic.us

Definition of Rain cats and dogs

1. Verb. Rain heavily. "It was rain cats and dogsing all day long "; "Put on your rain coat-- it's pouring outside!"

Definition of Rain cats and dogs

1. Verb. (idiomatic) To rain very heavily. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Rain Cats And Dogs

Literary usage of Rain cats and dogs

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Words, Facts, and Phrases: A Dictionary of Curious, Quaint, & Out-of-the-way by Eliezer Edwards (1882)
"... in size rapidly after a few warm April showers, and the belief formerly prevailed that the rain brought them. Hence the saying to " rain cats and dogs. ..."

2. Glossary of Terms and Phrases by Henry Percy Smith (1883)
"Hence " to rain cats and dogs " denotes a downpour of rain with a violent wind. Rain-gauge. An instrument for measuring the depth of ..."

3. Glossary of Terms and Phrases by Henry Percy Smith (1883)
"Hence "to rain cats and dogs " denotes a downpour of rain with a violent wind. Bain-gauge. An instrument for measuring the depth of the rainfall. ..."

4. The Slang Dictionary: Etymological, Historical, and Anecdotal by John Camden Hotten (1874)
"It is said to rain cats and dogs when a shower is exceptionally heavy. Probably in ridicule of the remarkable showers which used to find their way into the ..."

5. The Gaelic Etymology of the Languages of Western Europe and More Especially by Charles Mackay (1877)
"rain cats and dogs.—A vulgar expression to signify a very heavy fall of rain—without sense until traced to its remote roots. These appear to be the <£î tit ..."

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