pig in a poke

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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. poke refers to a bag or sack, and is related to pouch.

20 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Albanian: derr në thes — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Czech: zajíc v pytli — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Dutch: een kat in de zak kopen — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Estonian: siga kotis — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Finnish: sika säkissä — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• French: acheter chat en poche — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• German: Katze im Sack — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Hebrew: חתול בשק — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Hungarian: zsákbamacska — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Icelandic: kötturinn í sekknum — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Indonesian: kucing dalam karung — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Japanese: 衝動買い (shōdōgai) — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Latvian: kaķis maisā — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Latvian: cūka maisā — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Norwegian: katten i sekken — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Polish: kot w worku — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Portuguese: nabos em saco — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Spanish: dar gato por liebre — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Swedish: grisen i säcken — something whose true value is concealed or unknown
• Welsh: prynu cath mewn cwd — something whose true value is concealed or unknown