raise Cain
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Cain, the biblical son of Adam and Eve, the first murderer. The expression implies bringing or returning that evil to Earth.
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (AU) (file)
Verb[edit]
raise Cain (third-person singular simple present raises Cain, present participle raising Cain, simple past and past participle raised Cain)
- (idiomatic) To cause trouble or commotion; to behave in a disruptive manner.
- If those boys have been out drinking and raising Cain again tonight.
- 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
- "I seen old Flint in the corner there, behind you; as plain as print, I seen him; and if I get the horrors, I'm a man that has lived rough, and I'll raise Cain."
Synonyms[edit]
- (cause trouble): raise the Devil, raise hob, raise hell, raise the roof
Translations[edit]
to cause trouble
|
References[edit]
- “raise Cain”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.