pig in a poke

English

Etymology

Reportedly from the practice of substituting a butchered cat, etc. for a suckling pig when sold in a sack at a market.

Noun

Wikipedia pig in a poke (plural pigs in a poke)

1. (idiomatic) Something whose true value is concealed or unknown, especially something offered for sale.

Translations

something whose true value is concealed or unknown

• Arabic: سمك في ماء (ar) (samak fii maa') pl (fish in the water)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 瞎買東西 (cmn), 瞎买东西 (cmn) (xiā mǎi dōngxi)　(to shop blindly), 隔山買牛 (cmn), 隔山买牛 (cmn) (géshān mǎi niú) (buy a cow over there in another mountain)

• Czech: zajíc v pytli (cs) m (rabbit in a bag)
• Dutch: een kat in de zak (nl)
• Estonian: siga kotis (et)
• Finnish: sika säkissä (fi) (idiomatic)
• French: chat en poche (fr) m

• German: Katze im Sack (de) f (cat in the bag)
• Hebrew: חתול בשק (he)
• Icelandic: kötturinn í sekknum (is) m
• Japanese: 衝動買い (ja) (しょうどうがい, shōdōgai) (impulsive buying)
• Norwegian: katten i sekken (no)
• Polish: kot w worku (pl) m (cat in a bag)
• Portuguese: gato por lebre (pt)
• Russian: кот в мешке (ru) (kot v mešké) m (cat in a bag)
• Swedish: grisen i säcken (sv)

See also

• buy a pup
• sell a pup
• be sold a pup
• let the cat out of the bag