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What does 'while the cats away the mice will play' mean?
What does it mean when a cat sleeps away the mice will play?
Where did the proverb 'when the cat's away a mouse may play' come from?
One of the most famous and oldest idioms in the English language is, “when the cat’s away, the mice will play.” This phrase/sentence indicates when someone, usually an authoritative person, isn’t around, the people left to themselves do things they may not approve of.
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This expression has been around for hundreds of years and is well-known enough to be shorted to just ‘when the cat’s away…’
“We went on vacation and our sweet children invited all their friends over for a pool party. When the cats away…” “If I’m not here nothing gets done right and people get hurt. When the cats away, the mice will play.” “You have to watch these people like a hawk. You know what they say, when the cats away, the mice will play.” “There are never enough...
As early as the 14th-century forerunners to this proverb existed such as ‘where there is no cat, the rat is king.’ By 1607, John Heywood listed the modern proverb as being an old one. This idiomatic proverb is based simply on the idea that when the cat of the house is not present, the mice will take advantage of its absence. More Idioms Starting wi...
when the cat's away, the mice will play. Without supervision, people will do as they please, especially in disregarding or breaking rules. For example, As soon as their parents left, the children invited all their friends over-when the cat's away, you know .
while the cat's away, the mice will play idiom. while the going is good idiom. whim. whimper. whimpered. To top. Contents. WHILE THE CAT'S AWAY, THE MICE WILL PLAY definition: 1. said when the person who is in charge of a place is not there, and the people there behave badly…. Learn more.
when / while the cat's away the mice will play is an expression that describes how people will behave badly or as they like when a supervisor or other authority figure is not present. Note : It's common to just use the first part of the idiom, "while the cat's away."
3 days ago · when the cat's away, the mice will play. said to mean that people do what they want, or misbehave when their boss or another person in authority is away. While the bosses are out of the room, the workers watch the game – a case of while the cat's away the mice will play. Easy Learning Idioms Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers.
When the cat’s away the mice will play is a rhyming proverb that has been in use for hundreds of years, though it may be more often spoken rather than written. It is also multilingual. We will examine the meaning of this phrase, where it came from and some examples of its use in sentences.
