Jump to content

curiosity killed the cat

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

[edit]
WOTD – 5 August 2026
A curious cat exploring the inside of a washing machine.

Alternative forms

[edit]

Etymology

[edit]

Compare earlier care killed the cat.[1] Referring to the statement that it will kill anyone, even though they had, like the proverbial cat, nine lives.[2]

Pronunciation

[edit]

Proverb

[edit]

curiosity killed the cat

  1. (originally Ireland) One should not be curious about things that can be dangerous.
    Synonym: (archaic) care killed the cat
    • 1868 October 28, “Aunt Hetty’s Stratagem”, in Waterford Mirror & Tramore Visiter, Waterford, Munster: […] John S. Palmer, […], →OCLC, page [4], column 3:
      They say curiosity killed a cat once, so I will take warning and let things remain as they are.
    • 2008 August 15, Stephen Holden, “Fraught Life of a Cast-Iron Songstress”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 1 May 2014:
      When one interviewer asks why she [Anita O’Day] started using it [heroin], she replies facetiously, “Curiosity killed the cat,” then flashes a toothy smile.
    • 2014 July 3, Ian Sample, “Shocking but true: students prefer jolt of pain than being made to sit and think”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian‎[2], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 4 July 2014:
      “Imagine the setup – a person is told to sit in a chair with wires attached to their skin, and a button that will deliver a harmless but uncomfortable shock, and they are told to just sit there and entertain themselves with their thoughts,” she [Jessica Andrews-Hanna] said. “As they sit there, strapped to this machine, their mind starts to wander, and it naturally goes to that shock – was it really that bad?[”] “What are the experimenters really interested in? Perhaps this is a case where curiosity killed the cat.”
    • 2021 May 24, “Cute bear cub scared off by family dog”, in New York Post, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC:
      Curiosity killed the cat — and it got the best of these bears. Watch as a trio of mischievous baby black bears in Vernon Township, New Jersey, were chased off by a protective dog after one curious cub climbed a second-floor balcony.

Coordinate terms

[edit]

Translations

[edit]

References

[edit]
  • Gregory Y. Titelman (1996), “Curiosity killed the cat”, in Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs & Sayings […], New York, N.Y.: Random House, →ISBN, page 48, column 2.
  1. ^ “curiosity killed the cat” under “cat, n.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
  2. ^ “care killed the cat” under “cat, n.1”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.

Further reading

[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=curiosity_killed_the_cat&oldid=91807788"