essay on curiosity killed the cat

The Interesting Meaning and History of the Phrase ‘Curiosity Killed the Cat’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Curiosity killed the cat’ is a well-known phrase that is found repeatedly in English (and Anglophone) literature. The meaning of ‘curiosity killed the cat’ is easy to summarise: don’t go poking your nose into other people’s affairs, and don’t be overly inquisitive about things which don’t concern you, as it will only cause trouble.

The phrase suggests that a cat that went nosing about in something it shouldn’t have came a-cropper and died as a result.

However, the phrase began life quite differently. ‘Curiosity killed the fact’ is a surprisingly recent phrase, but ‘care killed the cat’ – a phrase with a subtly, but importantly different meaning – has a much longer, and older, pedigree.

Care Killed the Cat

‘Care killed the cat’ is found as early as 1598, in Ben Jonson’s city comedy, Every Man in His Humour . In that play, we find the line: ‘Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care’ll kill a cat, up-tails all, and a louse for the hangman.’

Shakespeare is thought to have played the part of Kno’well, the aged father in the first production of Jonson’s play, and he may have remembered Jonson’s use of ‘care killed the cat’ when writing his play Much Ado about Nothing , which is thought to have been performed the following year. In Much Ado , Claudio says, ‘What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.’

In both these instances, ‘care’ means ‘worry’ or ‘sorrow’, as it often does in Shakespeare’s plays of the time (compare King Henry IV’s opening lines from 1 Henry IV : ‘So shaken as we are, so wan with care’). So the meaning is clearly different here: it is worry or sorrow that killed the cat, rather than its meddling nose. Of course, it’s possible that it’s not the cat’s care that is the cause of the trouble, but its human owner’s: in other words, worrying excessively about something may lead you to cause harm to those around you.

But this isn’t apparent from the phrase ‘care killed the cat’, and it’s impossible, some four centuries later, to know for sure what the phrase was meant to denote. Although cats were much-maligned in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period, partly because of their associations with witchcraft and black magic (black cats especially, of course), they obviously had their uses when it came to ridding households of rodents and other vermin.

And it’s clear that the killing of the cat in both Jonson’s and Shakespeare’s use of the expression ‘care killed the cat’ (or ‘care will kill a cat’) is viewed as something to be avoided.

However, it’s probably more likely that the phrase referred to the cat’s actions, rather than a human’s actions upon it; and a clue to what the original phrase may have meant can be found in George Wither’s 1635 book A Collection of Emblems, Ancient and Modern , where he writes of the proverbial cat hunting mice: ‘he cannot be content to slaughter them / but hee must also playe / and Sport his woefull prisoners’ lives away’.

So, if we take ‘care’ to mean worrying and taking time fretting over something rather than just getting on and taking decisive action, then the thing that may ‘kill’ the cat is failing to kill its prey while it had the chance. And then, perhaps, being killed either out of starvation (because its dinner got away) or from being cast out by its owner, dissatisfied with its mousing skills?

Curiosity Killed the Cat

So when did ‘curiosity killed the cat’ take over as the cat-killing expression or phrase of choice – and why? It had certainly come into being by the second half of the nineteenth century: James Allan Mair’s 1873 book A handbook of proverbs: English, Scottish, Irish, American, Shakesperean, and scriptural; and family mottoes lists ‘curiosity killed the cat’ as a familiar phrase, with an ‘I.’ next to it to suggest that the phrase is Irish in origin.

This is perfectly possible, especially as the phrase seems to have really taken off in the United States, where it was perhaps introduced by Irish immigrants in the second half of the nineteenth century. The prolific short-story writer O. Henry, in his 1909 story ‘ Schools and Schools ’, wrote: ‘Curiosity can do more things than kill a cat; and if emotions, well recognized as feminine, are inimical to feline life, then jealousy would soon leave the whole world catless.’

Curiously (as it were), although the Oxford English Dictionary is keen to point out that there is no link between the English word ‘care’ and the Latin word cura (meaning ‘care’), the word ‘curiosity’ ultimately derives from the Latin cūriōsus meaning ‘full of care or pains, careful, assiduous, inquisitive’.

So here, the words ‘curious’ and ‘inquisitive’ are related to ‘full of care’, although ‘care’ here refers as much to taking care as it does to feeling grief or sorrow.

In conclusion, the phrase ‘curiosity killed the cat’ appears to have been a mutation of a far earlier expression, ‘care killed a cat’, meaning that excessive worry rather than inquisitiveness will lead to harm. The phrase seems to have changed in the nineteenth century, when ‘curiosity killed the cat’ became established as the more famous expression.

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10 thoughts on “The Interesting Meaning and History of the Phrase ‘Curiosity Killed the Cat’”

Fascinating. I had heard of the phrase ‘care killed the cat’, so it’s interesting to see how closely (or not) the two expressions are linked. Enjoyed this immensely

Thanks, Lynn! It was interesting delving into the history of this phrase (and the literary examples in particular).

Actually, I thought it was Poe who killed the cat…

Haha, I want to reread ‘The Black Cat’ now…

Not if you love cats! Surprisingly Poe did.

When I was young people asking intrusive – or any kind of question – might be told “Curiosity killed the cat” and give the smart rejoinder “Satisfaction brought it back” ie the cat died of curiosity, but when its question was answered it revived. There is a near rhyme there, suggesting a piece of verse. Stock replies were not uncommon – someone told that she was showing her underwear (usually a petticoat) would snap “It’s all clean and paid for…”

I might have to add a paragraph on that rejoinder – it appears to have turned up in print in the early twentieth century, though whether it was as verse I’m not sure!

\Yes the early 20th century would be right for me..

I think it fair to suggest that Schrödinger’s curiosity killed the cat!

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Did Curiosity Really Kill the Cat?

Curiosity is the best remedy for fear..

Posted September 17, 2020 | Reviewed by Ekua Hagan

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We are all familiar with the common proverb, “Curiosity killed the cat,” but what was the origin of that proverb, and did it really intend to suppress curiosity?

Interestingly, the original version was “Care killed the cat,” with the word “care” referring to grief or worry. In this form, the proverb first appeared in print at the end of the 16th century, first in a play by playwright Ben Johnson (in 1598), and about a year later in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing . It was still quoted in this form at the end of the 19th century, in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable . So what happened? How did “care” get replaced by “curiosity?”

As far as I can tell, nobody knows. The first known printed reference to this version was in an Irish newspaper in 1868, and it started appearing more frequently as a proverb in 1873. Be that as it may, there is no question that the cautionary expression was meant to serve as advice suggesting that it is best to mind one’s own business.

This would not have been the first time for curiosity to be discouraged. All civilizations built, at some point, walls around certain types of knowledge. Adam and Eve were banished from the Garden of Eden for yielding to their curiosity and eating the forbidden fruit. The book of Ecclesiastes specifically warns that “In much wisdom , there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain.” The French abbot St. Bernard Clairvaux even pronounced in the 12th century that curiosity is close to being a deadly sin: “To learn in order to know is scandalous curiosity.”

Galileo Galilei encountered the discouragement of curiosity in his interaction with the Catholic Church. When he tried to convince Pope Urban VIII that the heliocentric model, in which the Earth and all the other planets revolved around the Sun, was a correct representation of reality, the Pope retorted that irrespective of which model of planetary motion scientists were to adopt, “we cannot limit the divine power and wisdom to this way.” In other words, the Pope’s view was that the curiosity that drove Galileo to carry out his scientific research was to no avail since humans would never be able to decipher the cosmos.

Queen Victoria had similar views. In a letter she wrote to her granddaughter Princess Victoria of Hesse, she advised: “I would earnestly warn you against trying to find out the reason for and explanation of everything ... To try and find out the reason for everything is very dangerous and leads to nothing but disappointment and dissatisfaction, unsettling your mind and in the end making you miserable.”

Unfortunately, attempts to suppress curiosity did not end centuries ago.

In 1937, the Nazi regime organized in Munich an exhibition they titled "Degenerate Art," of which the sole aim was to convince the public that modern art was simply a malicious attack by Jewish communists on the German people. The exhibit included works by a few of the greatest artists of the 20th century, but the exhibition catalog described the art as having been produced by “sick brains.” Similarly appalling acts against curiosity have been carried out by the Taliban, culminating with the shooting of Malala Yousafzai in the head because this young activist advocated education for girls.

Numerous incidents of book burning have also occurred throughout history, dating all the way back to the seventh century BCE, but continuing even to 1981, when the Jaffna Public Library of Sri Lanka was burned down by Sinhalese police and government-sponsored paramilitaries.

What is the lesson from all of these stories of oppression, intimidation, and assaults on curiosity? While writing my book WHY? , I coined the phrase: Curiosity is the best remedy for fear . What I mean by that is that often we are afraid of the unknown; of those things we know very little about. Becoming curious about them and making an effort to learn more usually acts to relieve that fear. The ability to be curious about almost anything you like (as long as you follow certain ethical guidelines related to privacy and research involving human subjects) is, after all, a clear manifestation of freedom.

Since curiosity in humans is not only inevitable but is also a principal driver of the desire for the acquisition of knowledge, we should all be happy that the idiom “Curiosity killed the cat” has a positive rejoinder: “But satisfaction brought it back!”

Livio, M. (2017). WHY?: What Makes Us Curious. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Livio, M. (2020). Galileo and the Science Deniers. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Mario Livio, Ph.D. is an astrophysicist, bestselling author of Galileo: And the Science Deniers and a popular speaker who has appeared on The Daily Show , 60 Minutes , and NOVA .

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Curiosity Killed The Cat

Meanings of “curiosity killed the cat”.

The phrase ‘ curiosity killed the cat ’ means curiosity and trying to go to an unknown place can lead to risky, or dangerous situations. In other words, if a person becomes inquisitive about everything, he or she could find themselves caught in unfortunate situations.

Origin of “Curiosity Killed The Cat”

The phrase “curiosity killed the cat” seems to have originated as “care killed the cat” from Every Man in His Humor , a popular play by Ben Jonson, published in 1598. In the play, the phrase goes thus; “Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care’ll kill a Cat, up-tails all, and a Louse for the Hangman.”

However, it is not the standard version used these days. It was later changed to “curiosity killed the cat” by a newspaper, The Galveston Daily News, in its publication of 1898. Since then, the phrase has been used in the same version and almost the same meanings.

Examples in Literature

 Curiosity Killed The Cat Poem by Jon M. Nelson

They say Curiosity killed the cat, Well there is a story behind that. It’s not the reason that you may think, When you hear it, your heart will sink. The cat was lazy and did nothing all day, And it always seemed to be in the way. It would lie in your path and try to trip, And if you didn’t catch yourself you’d slip. It would shed its fur balls everywhere, And the house would be covered in cat hair. It was a friendly cat, don’t get me wrong, So I don’t want to make this story too long. The cat one day was in the neighbor’s yard, And it must have let down its guard. I heard barking and growling from outside, And when I checked, I’d seen my cat had died. My neighbor left his dog off of the leash, He didn’t know the furry it would unleash. It was a tragic end for my cat you see, My neighbor’s dog’s name was Curiosity.

The poem is an allegorical representation of this phrase in the shape of the story of a cat who is very lazy and sluggish. One day the neighbor’s dog kills him. The poet later finds out that the dog’s name is Curiosity. That is why the poem has been titled with this phrase, showing its metaphorical representation.

 Curiosity by Alistair Reid

“may have killed the cat; more likely the cat was just unlucky, or else curious to see what death was like, having no cause to go on licking paws, or fathering litter on litter of kittens, predictably.”

These lines represent the death of a cat to highlight this phrase, saying that it might be the neighbor who killed the cat, or the cat was not so lucky to save himself. It, however, seems there is no cause for the death of the cat. It also seems that there are two plausible versions: one of licking paws and the other of fathering a litter of kittens. Both could be true. The phrase is presented with confusing meanings and good use of ambiguity .

 Curiosity Killed the Cat by Little River Band

Right now , right now You keep this flame I have alight in me And with this cat, it’s curiosity That keeps me hanging on night and day Surprisingly, again I hear you say Guess what, guess what, curiosity killed the cat I’m telling you I know where it’s at Love is everywhere to be found Open your eyes and look around.”

The first stanza talks about the singer’s affirmation that he has the same fire that the cat has. This is the fire of curiosity that keeps him hanging out day and night. However, he also knows that curiosity killed the cat but he is not as curious as to the cat, for he knows that love is omnipresent, and he does not need to be curious. Therefore, it is a direct meaning of the phrase to show that the speaker knows it.

Curiosity Killed the Cat by Sierra Harimann

This novel by Sierra Harimann presents the story of a girl, Hannah, who moves into a new house with her father and other siblings. The house is located near a graveyard where she finds a cat. But, despite her incredulous nature, she finds the cat of her stepsister, Madison, missing, which later bothers her at night. Despite knowing this phrase, Hannah dares not to kill that cat, for, after all, it belongs to her sister. The phrase is used as a metaphor with a direct meaning.

Example in Sentences

Example #1: “Baron was always curious about the on-goings of his neighbor’s life until the neighbor herself came and told her that “curiosity killed the cat.”

Example #2: “With all her inquisitive questions in the class, everyone used to tease Harriet about how curiosity killed the cat.”

Example #3: “Nathan always had his nose in adventures and mysteries . He was always full of doubts and left no stone unturned in unveiling the truth. His mother warned him that curiosity killed the cat.”

Example #4: “Rose learnt it through the hard way that “curiosity killed the cat,” and stopped meddling in other people’s affairs.”

Example #5: “They were two curious siblings and everyone warned them how curiosity killed the cat.”

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• Curiosity killed the cat

What's the meaning of the phrase 'Curiosity killed the cat'?

Inquisitiveness can lead one into dangerous situations.

What's the origin of the phrase 'Curiosity killed the cat'?

Everyone knows that, despite its supposed nine lives, curiosity killed the cat. Well, not quite. The ‘killed the cat’ proverb originated as ‘care killed the cat’. By ‘care’ the coiner of the expression meant ‘worry/sorrow’ rather than our more usual contemporary ‘look after/provide for’ meaning.

That form of the expression is first recorded in the English playwright Ben Jonson’s play Every Man in His Humour , 1598:

“ Helter skelter , hang sorrow, care’ll kill a Cat, up-tails all, and a Louse for the Hangman.”

The play was one of the Tudor humours comedies, in which each major character is assigned a particular ‘humour’ or trait. The play is thought to have been performed in 1598 by The Lord Chamberlain’s Men , a troupe of actors including William Shakespeare and William Kempe . Shakespeare was no slouch when it came to appropriating a memorable line and it crops up the following year in Much Ado About Nothing :

“What, courage man! what though care killed a cat, thou hast mettle enough in thee to kill care.”

The proverbial expression ‘curiosity killed the cat’, which is usually used when attempting to stop someone asking unwanted questions, is much more recent. The earlier form was still in use in 1898, when it was defined in Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable :

“Care killed the Cat. It is said that a cat has nine lives, but care would wear them all out.”

Curiosity hasn’t received a good press over the centuries. Saint Augustine wrote in Confessions , AD 397, that, in the aeons before creating heaven and earth, God “fashioned hell for the inquisitive”. John Clarke, in Paroemiologia , 1639 suggested that “He that pryeth into every cloud may be struck with a thunderbolt”. In Don Juan , Lord Byron called curiosity “that low vice”. That bad opinion, and the fact that cats are notoriously inquisitive, led to the source of their demise being changed from ‘care’ to ‘curiosity’.

The earliest version that I have found of the precise current form of the proverb in print is from The Galveston Daily News , 1898:

It is said that once “curiosity killed a Thomas cat.” [ Thomas cat is a jokey form of tom cat, that is, a male cat. ]

The occasional variant to ‘curiosity killed the cat’ is the addition of ‘satisfaction brought it back’. I’ve not been able to trace the source of this odd addition. The first citation of it that I’ve found in print is from the Pennsylvania newspaper The Titusville Herald , December 1912:

You will find greater values here. We are told: “Curiosity killed the cat, But satisfaction brought it back.”

See also: the List of Proverbs .

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curiosity killed the cat

• too much curiosity can lead to dangerous situations
• being too inquisitive can get you into trouble
• a prying behaviour can be harmful
• used to warn someone not to ask too many questions about something

Example Sentences

• When he started asking too many questions of his neighbours about their whereabouts during the weekend, they warned him that curiosity killed the cat .
• When Jane asked George where he was going at the middle of the night, he replied that  curiosity killed the cat .
• Joe was very curious about where Sarah was getting all her money from, but all she said was that  curiosity killed the cat .
• He refused to answer any of our questions regarding where he spent his vacation, saying instead “curiosity killed the cat” .
• Though he knew all about the matter, he refused to divulge it to anyone, only saying that  curiosity killed the cat .
• “Where are you going all of a sudden?” he asked. “Curiosity killed the cat” she replied.

Origin The original expression was “care killed the cat”, where care was used to denote worry or sorrow. That original expression was first recorded in 1598 in Ben Jonson’s play “Every Man in His Humour.” The current expression with “curiosity” is much newer, and the earliest record can be found in 1898 in The Galveston Daily News.

Share your opinions 9 Opinions

“…but satisfaction brought it back.” This changes the moral of the saying. Because it does encourage the prying with hopes of positive results preferably with answers. What happens when satisfaction is not achieved?

‒ Pkeshy October 28, 2021

“Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back” many people don’t actually know the second half of the idiom. It’s used to give a warning or tell someone not to be curious however when adding the rest of the idiom it shows that being curious is not always a bad thing sometimes you need to see things for yourself. Don’t blindly trust someone of something.

‒ Ghost April 14, 2021

It means that asking to many questions can get you in trouble.

‒ Parker November 13, 2020

Curiosity is not bad at all if you are trying to unravel something that will be of great importance in the long run. Where it can land someone in trouble, if it is used just to be nosy in other people’s business to satisfy one’s inquisitiveness not knowing the dangers might be associated with the reveal.

‒ Yolanda Dizon Lobo November 11, 2020

Kaykay’s opinion is valid when you have a good look at it especially with the evidence she cited. therefor I agree with her statement: “curiosity did not kill the cat”. Here’s my evidence to add: Asking questions help us learn how would it kill us? Think about everyone who has gotten into history books. Tomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Issac Newton they all had one thing in common: Curiosity

‒ Anonymous February 19, 2020

Curiosity did not kill the cat but it may have killed the mouse. Innately we all have a curiosity. Curiosity is a good thing. Look at Einstein and where his curiosity took him. The reference it bears today to mind your own business is more about the process of learning about boundaries and awareness. Be curious!

‒ KayKay February 16, 2020

I think the literal meaning means like if they were curious of something dangerous they’d get killed idk

‒ Random Student October 25, 2018

What is the literal meaning?

‒ Gerald March 27, 2018

Do you know the literal and figurative meaning of this?

‒ Maria March 2, 2018

What's on your mind?

Similar Idioms

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• come a cropper
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Expansion of an Idea – “Curiosity Killed the Cat” for Students / Teachers / Parents

Explore the idea behind the age-old proverb, “Curiosity Killed the Cat.” This saying serves as a reminder to balance our curiosity with caution to avoid unintended consequences.

While curiosity is an essential trait that has led to numerous discoveries and innovations, it can also lead to trouble if not approached with a balanced mindset. The proverb encourages us to think before we act, to pause and assess the potential risks before we leap into the unknown.

By maintaining a balanced approach to curiosity, we can avoid the negative consequences that can come from excessive exploration or recklessness. Instead, we can channel our curiosity in productive ways that benefit ourselves and society as a whole.

Whether you are a lifelong learner, a curious adventurer, or simply looking to improve your decision-making skills, our website is the perfect resource to expand your understanding of the proverb “Curiosity Killed the Cat.” Join us on this journey of discovery and learn to balance your curiosity with caution to achieve greater success and happiness in life.

• Curiosity Killed the Cat

The proverb “Curiosity killed the cat” is a warning about the dangers of being too inquisitive or nosy. The origins of the proverb are unclear, but it has been used for centuries to caution against the perils of excessive curiosity.

The proverb is often used to suggest that being too curious can lead to trouble, and that sometimes it is better not to know too much. This is because when we are curious, we tend to explore things that we are not familiar with, and this can sometimes result in unintended consequences. Just like the curious cat who may have wandered into danger, our curiosity can also lead us down dangerous paths.

However, it is important to note that the proverb does not mean that curiosity is bad in and of itself. In fact, curiosity is an essential human trait that drives us to learn, explore, and discover new things. It is only when curiosity becomes excessive and impulsive that it can become dangerous.

Moreover, the proverb is not meant to discourage people from asking questions or seeking answers. Instead, it is a warning to exercise caution and to be aware of the risks involved in our curiosity. We should always be mindful of our actions and consider the potential consequences of our curiosity.

In conclusion, the proverb “Curiosity killed the cat” cautions us against the perils of excessive curiosity. While curiosity is a valuable human trait that drives us to explore and discover, we must exercise caution and be aware of the risks involved. It is important to strike a balance between satisfying our curiosity and being mindful of the potential consequences of our actions.

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Curiosity Killed the Cat

Curiosity killed the cat. Truly if a greater fallacy were ever spoken, I have yet to hear it. Many things could be responsible for the death of a feline, but certainly a want for understanding is not among them. In fact if it weren’t for curiosity, humans would still be living in cold, dark caves, dragging our knuckles and grunting at one another. Curiosity is the foundation of all learning. Without a desire to comprehend the extent of our existence there would be no point to education and everyone would live in the realm of another common cliché, “ignorance is bliss.” I didn’t always think this way. I used to believe just the opposite; that it was just fine to go along with the intellectual grain and learn exactly what was taught, repeating and reciting it word for word. There were some times in school where I just felt like a human tape recorder taking everything in and only thinking about it come test time. It wasn’t until later in my high school career that I began to fully realize that knowledge is more than remembering what other people say is true, it is discovering the truths that are not yet in a textbook. As Galileo once said, “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.” My goal is to be the one who fulfills Galileo’s proclamation and discover the truths that are yet to be revealed. The first teacher to every challenge me to look beyond the pages of a book and into its context was my freshman religion teacher, Mr. Dugan. In a class about the bible and the church I simply expected to be pelted with creeds and dogmas with no explanations besides “it’s right because it’s always been right.” To my surprise though the first thing I heard out of his mouth was, “everything they teach here is useless.” I was astounded, stunned, even flabbergasted. How could he make such a rash statement? I raised my hand, being the product of schools rules that I was, and asked him about it. I asked what he meant by that and why he had said it. He coolly responded, “because everything they teach here leaves out the most important thing about life; the if that happens in the middle of it.” My interest piqued and I pressed him harder thinking he had tried to play off his statement with a cliché explanation. Puzzled as to what he meant I said, “but isn’t the job of a school to prepare us for life?” Again his response was quick and profound, “they do, if you’re going to be a scholar who lives his life out in a library, but if you plan on doing something other than that, you’re going to have to start thinking for yourself.” I took his challenge of personal knowledge and never looked back.

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Home — Essay Samples — Literature — Novel — Curiosity Killed the Cat’ Proved in Lucious and Pentheus Stories

Curiosity Killed The Cat' Proved in Lucious and Pentheus Stories

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Idiom of the Day. "Curiosity killed the cat"

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  Curiosity killed the cat

In the realm of English language learning, idioms add color and depth to everyday conversations. One such idiom, " Curiosity killed the cat ," serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of excessive inquisitiveness. This phrase warns against the potential consequences of poking one's nose into matters that may be better left alone.

Used since the 16th century, this idiom underscores the idea that being overly curious can lead to trouble or danger. For example:

• Despite warnings from his friends, Mark's curiosity killed the cat when he decided to explore the abandoned house at the end of the street, only to find himself trapped inside by a collapsing floor.
• Mary's curiosity killed the cat when she couldn't resist peeking into her sister's diary, discovering secrets that strained their relationship irreparably.
• Tim's curiosity killed the cat when he delved too deeply into his coworker's personal life, inadvertently uncovering a sensitive issue and causing embarrassment for both parties.

Remember, while curiosity is often praised as a virtue, it's wise to temper it with discretion to avoid unwanted consequences.

March, 2024

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