Pig in a poke

Pig in a poke is an English idiom which means a kind of deceptive trick. It is a blind bargain.^[1]

The phrase is about something which is offered for sale in a manner which hides its true value. The idiom means a purchase which turns out not to be what the seller claimed it was.^[2]

History

The term "pig in a poke" was first used in the Middle Ages.^[3] At this time, it was common to sell meat or small animals in cloth bags or sacks called a "poke".^[4]

Sometimes people simply bought the "poke" without looking inside; and sometimes people who thought they were buying pork or a small pig were surprised to find they had been sold something else.

The idiom pig in a poke is about what happens when someone does not look to see what is being bought or sold.^[5]

Meaning

The idiom "pig in a poke" is used to describe something which is purchased without the buyer being aware of its true nature or value.

The phrase can also be applied to accepting an idea or plan without a full understanding of it. In other words, it is about starting a course of action without knowing the relevant facts.^[6]

Many other European languages have a version of this phrase, but many are translated as a warning not to buy a cat in a bag.^[7] -

Language	Phrase	Translation
Bulgarian	да купиш котка в торба	to buy a cat in a bag
Catalan	Donar/Prendre gat per llebre	to give/to take cat instead of hare
Chinese	挂羊头卖狗肉	sell dog meat as mutton
Croatian	kupiti mačka u vreći	to buy a cat in a sack
Czech	koupit zajíce v pytli	to buy a hare in a sack
Danish	at købe katten i sækken	to buy the cat in the sack
Dutch	een kat in de zak kopen	to buy a cat in the sack
Estonian	ostma põrsast kotis	to buy a piglet in a sack
French	acheter un chat dans un sac acheter chat en poche	to buy a cat in a bag^[8]
Finnish	ostaa sika säkissä	to buy a pig in a sack
German	Die Katze im Sack kaufen	to buy the cat in the sack^[8]
Greek	αγοράζω γουρούνι στο σακκί	to buy a pig in a sack
Hebrew	חתול בשק	cat in a sack
Hungarian	zsákbamacska	cat in a sack
Icelandic	að kaupa köttinn í sekknum	to buy the cat in the sack
Indonesian	kucing dalam karung	cat in a sack
Irish	ceannaigh muc i mála	buying a pig in a bag
Italian	comperare un gatto in sacco	buying a cat in a sack^[8]
Latvian	pirkt kaķi maisā	to buy a cat in a sack
Lithuanian	pirkti katę maiše	to buy a cat in a sack
Luxembourgish	d'Kaz am Sak kafen	to buy the cat in a sack
Macedonian	да купиш мачка во вреќа	to buy the cat in the sack
Norwegian	kjøpe katta i sekken	to buy the cat in the sack
Polish	kupić kota w worku	to buy a cat in a sack
Portuguese	comprar gato por lebre	to buy a cat instead of a hare
Romanian	cumperi mâța în sac	to buy the cat in the bag
Russian	купить кота в мешке	to buy a cat in a sack
Spanish	dar gato por liebre	to give a cat instead of a hare
Spanish	hay gato encerrado	there is a cat shut inside
Serbian	купити мачку у џаку	to buy a cat in a sack
Slovak	kúpiť mačku vo vreci	to buy a cat in a sack
Slovene	kupiti mačka v žaklju	to buy a cat in a sack
Swedish	köpa grisen i säcken	to buy the pig in the sack
Egyptian	بيشتري سمك في مياة	to buy fish in the water

References

↑ Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1877). Errors of Speech and of Spelling. W. Tegg and Company. p. 853.
↑ Allan, Keith (2010). Concise Encyclopedia of Semantics. Elsevier. p. 404. ISBN 978-0-08-095969-6.
↑ Ammer, Christine (1997). The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin. p. 499. ISBN 978-0-395-72774-4.
↑ Durkin, Philip (2011). The Oxford Guide to Etymology. Oxford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-19-161878-9.
↑ The Student's Practical Dictionary of Idioms, Phrases and Terms: With Explanation in English and Roman-Urdu. Ram Narain Lal. 1904. p. 470.
↑ Trask, Robert Lawrence (2007). Language and Linguistics: The Key Concepts. Taylor & Francis. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-415-41359-6.
↑ A related English expression is "let the cat out of the bag".
↑ ^8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 Gewehr, Wolf (2002). Aspects of Modern Language Teaching in Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-203-02556-7.

[1] Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1877). Errors of Speech and of Spelling. W. Tegg and Company. p. 853.

[2] Allan, Keith (2010). Concise Encyclopedia of Semantics. Elsevier. p. 404. ISBN 978-0-08-095969-6.

[3] Ammer, Christine (1997). The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms. Houghton Mifflin. p. 499. ISBN 978-0-395-72774-4.

[4] Durkin, Philip (2011). The Oxford Guide to Etymology. Oxford University Press. p. 106. ISBN 978-0-19-161878-9.

[5] The Student's Practical Dictionary of Idioms, Phrases and Terms: With Explanation in English and Roman-Urdu. Ram Narain Lal. 1904. p. 470.

[6] Trask, Robert Lawrence (2007). Language and Linguistics: The Key Concepts. Taylor & Francis. p. 114. ISBN 978-0-415-41359-6.

[7] A related English expression is "let the cat out of the bag".

[gewehr-8] 8.0 ^8.1 ^8.2 Gewehr, Wolf (2002). Aspects of Modern Language Teaching in Europe. Taylor & Francis. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-203-02556-7.

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