English · Idiom Historical

cats and dogs

Preserved but no longer current.

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

It is said to rain cats and dogs when a shower is exceptionally heavy. Probably in ridicule of the remarkable showers which used to find their way into the papers during the "silly season."

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

mưa lớn

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Era: ca. 1874 (Victorian)

Where it’s used: Origin British & Irish English

Examples

Yes, I was outside and it's raining cats and dogs.Phải, tôi đã ở bên ngoài và trời đang mưa như trút nước.

It's raining cats and dogs.Trời đang mưa như trút nước vậy.

Tatoeba sentence #837006 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)

Sources & notes

Historical definition reproduced from Hotten’s The Slang Dictionary (1874, public domain; Project Gutenberg #42108, retrieved 2026-07-31). Reflects the attitudes of its era.

Topics: Cats Dogs Historical slang (1800s)

Common questions

What does “cats and dogs” mean?

It is said to rain cats and dogs when a shower is exceptionally heavy. Probably in ridicule of the remarkable showers which used to find their way into the papers during the "silly season."

Is “cats and dogs” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.