/diː ˈkat͡sə aʊ̯s deːm zak ˈlasn̩/ lit. ‘let the cat out of the bag’
German idiom, colloquial. To reveal a secret, often by accident.
Draft Not yet checked by a native German speaker.
How do people use Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen
?
Colloquial and very common, in conversation as well as in headlines about product launches and political deals. Friends use it to push for news (“jetzt lass endlich die Katze aus dem Sack!”), and once the secret is out people say “jetzt ist die Katze aus dem Sack”. In the past it’s “ließ die Katze aus dem Sack” or “hat die Katze aus dem Sack gelassen”.
Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen
in real sentences
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Tom ließ die Katze aus dem Sack.
Tom let the cat out of the bag.
Tatoeba, sentence by brauchinet, translation by CK, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Schließlich ließ er die Katze aus dem Sack.
He finally let the cat out of the bag.
Tatoeba, sentence by freddy1, translation by sundown, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen
come from?
German Wiktionary ties it to “die Katze im Sack kaufen” (to buy a cat in a sack): crooked traders at medieval fairs are said to have sold a cat in a sack as a piglet or rabbit, and once the cat is out, the trick is exposed. The Redensarten-Index links that image to a Till Eulenspiegel tale of 1519 in which he sells a furrier a cat sewn into a hare’s skin, and it finds the German phrase in print by 1787. English has had “let the cat out of the bag” since the mid-18th century, so a loan from English is possible. A theory about the cat-o’-nine-tails whip kept in a bag on sailing ships has no source behind it.
Mistakes learners make with Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen
Assuming it always means a slip. English Wiktionary says the English phrase is often about letting a secret out by accident, while German uses it just as often for a planned reveal, so a company “lässt die Katze aus dem Sack” when it finally shows its new phone.
Other German idioms like Die Katze aus dem Sack lassen
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?
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