Rate this phrase:0.0 / 0 votes

pig in a poke

Something whose true value (usually less than expected) is concealed or unknown, especially something offered for sale.

Etymology:

  • Reportedly from the practice of substituting a butchered cat, etc. for a suckling pig when sold in a sack at a market. Other theories circulate but all involve the purchase of a cat in a bag, where the buyer expected better.
24 Views
“

Betty thought the flowers looked expensive, but her mother knew they were fake. When Betty asked if she could buy them, her mother replied, "That's just a pig in a poke. You don't want that"

Collection   Edit    

Submitted on September 01, 2009

Modified by TriplePurple on December 03, 2023

Translation

Find a translation for the pig in a poke phrase in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to pig in a poke

poke outsqueal like a stuck pigpig fuckerpig outpoke outpig fuckermake a pig's ear ofpig latinpoke aboutpoke output lipstick on a pigpoke aroundin a pig's eyehappy as a pig in slop/happy as a pig i…

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this pig in a poke phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this pig in a poke definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "pig in a poke." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Dec. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/pig-in-a-poke_6105>.

    Powered by CITE.ME Cite.Me

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    There's no place like ________ .
    A bed
    B home
    C the office
    D work

    Browse Phrases.com

    #ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ