look like something the cat dragged in

English

Alternative forms

• look like something the cat brought in
• look like something the cat's dragged in

Etymology

From the habit of domestic cats of bringing home the remains of killed animals.

Verb

look like something the cat dragged in (third-person singular simple present looks like something the cat dragged in, present participle looking like something the cat dragged in, simple past and past participle looked like something the cat dragged in)

1. (simile) To have a very dishevelled or untidy appearance.

   Synonym: look as if one has been dragged through a hedge backwards

Usage notes

• Not to be confused with look what the cat's dragged in.

Further reading

• Eric Partridge (2005) “something the cat dragged in; something the cat has brought in”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, volumes 1 (A–I), London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 355.