為何英文中傾盆大雨叫做下的阿貓阿狗(It rain cats and dogs),
而不用其他動物來說明??
關於這句俚語，至少有好幾個典故版本：
(1) It seems that cats were at one time thought to have influence over storms....
and that dogs were symbols of storms,
often accompanying images and descriptions of the Norse storm god Odin.
So when some particularly violent tempest appeared,
people suggested it was caused by cats (bringing the rain) and dogs (the wind).
有人認為貓和狗對暴風雨有某種影響力，所以每當下傾盆大雨時，大家就認為是貓帶來雨，而狗帶來風了。
(2) 這個片語初次出現，是在Jonathan Swift在1738年所著的
「A Complete Collection of Polite and Ingenious Conversation」：
I know Sir John will go, though he was sure it would rain cats and dogs.
(3) 有人認為是從一個法文字「catadoupe」而來，指「大瀑布」。
此字當中，碰巧有像「cat」和「dog」的拼字部分，所以就以訛傳訛流傳開來。
(4) At this period the streets of British towns were so poorly constructed
that many cats and dogs would drown whenever there was a storm;
people seeing the corpses floating by would think they had fallen from the sky.
這個說法最好笑，但也最廣為流傳。有人認為當時英國的街道建造不良
所以每逢傾盆大雨就會有貓和狗淹死。人們看見漂流街頭的貓狗屍體
以為它們是從天上掉下來的。
(5) There are other similes which employ falls of improbable objects as
figurative ways of expressing the sensory overload of noise and confusion
that can occur during a violent rainstorm....
It's probable that the version with cats and dogs fits into this model,
without needing to invoke supernatural beliefs or inadequate drainage.
有可能這只是一個比喻。
因為下豪雨時，充滿噪音與混亂，就好像貓狗喧囂的樣子。
因此，只是一種類比，而與任何事件典故並無關連。
以上皆為關於「rain cats and dogs」之典故，敬請參考。
▼點擊下方廣告支持作者，您的點擊是作者發文的動力▼
留言列表
