Ask Lemmy
A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions
Please don't post about US Politics. If you need to do this, try [email protected]
Rules: (interactive)
1) Be nice and; have fun
Doxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them
2) All posts must end with a '?'
This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?
3) No spam
Please do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.
4) NSFW is okay, within reason
Just remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either [email protected] or [email protected].
NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].
5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions.
If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email [email protected]. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.
Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.
Partnered Communities:
Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu
view the rest of the comments
"Raiining cats and dogs" is not of American origin. The precise origin is unknown, but the first recorded uses are British, dating from the early to mid 17th century (Earliest uses are raining "dogs and cats" and "dogs and polecats".) although it's possible the phrase is significantly older than this.
The phrase is well known and widely used in the UK, and I doubt anyone here would consider it an American phrase.
Language is alive and I can't see anyone requesting origins specifically. Phrases like this can be part of 2 cultures at once. You even share the same base language, and don't even have hard proof one way or the other but still took the time to say 'nay'. Pretty boring..
Where did I say it wasn't? But language being alive doesn't change history -- the phrase was used by British writers before the USA even existed.
So? I offered the origin as it was presented alongside a number of phrases that are of American origin, and that one stands out as not (also as being suspected far older in origin than the others). I've simply added some additional information to the discussion. If you find it "boring", you are free to ignore it.
I didn't request your reply, yet you still wrote it.
Where did I say it couldn't? I merely stated that the phrase was not of American origin. I didn't say it wasn't used in the US, or that the UK somehow has some special exclusive licence to it.
I didn't post sources because I was short on time, but here, have some... (as I apparently now have time to waste...)
You will note that these are all British works by British authors. I can provide even more if you need them.
While the ultimate origin is unknown (there are many theories), any claim to it being American in origin is surely nonsense. There is no evidence for this at all. If you have some, please provide it.
What proof have you provided? Indeed, what has your comment added at all to the discussion? You could have looked up those sources and extensive etymological research on Google with less effort than you took to write your comment.
And what about your own comment? It adds absolutely zero additional information to the conversation, is rude, and you clearly misconstrued and misinterpreted my comment (apparently with the most negative interpretation possible), without even bothering to research anything for yourself.
Personally, I think some may find it interesting that a phrase they might have thought was of modern American origin is actually from another country and of far more ancient origins they expect. To me, that is interesting. If it isn't to you, why do you bother to read and comment?
In the future, I suggest you simply ignore comments you find boring and move on instead of posting insulting low-effort replies.
Nobody said it was of American origin. You're putting words in the parent commenter's mouth and then choosing to argue against them. That's why people take issue with your comment. If you want to contribute to the conversation without coming off as argumentative then frame your point as adding to the conversation not as an argument against something that wasn't said.
I know. Go back and read what I wrote. The only argument here was started by you. The only person putting words in others' mouths is you.
Yes, and it's used in many other places in the world that isn't America either. That doesn't change the fact that it is widely used in America. You may not have intended for your comment to come off as argumentative. But it did. You're the one that joined the conversation by explaining that it's not an American saying. It is a common saying in American English which is all the parent comment asserted.
And I didn't assert otherwise. Perhaps improve your own reading comprehension before wading into a discussion of the English language.