to buy a pig in a poke, to be ripped off
O anel era falso, coitada, comprou gato por lebre!
The ring was fake, poor thing, she got ripped off!
The phrase literally means "to buy a cat instead of a hare." A traditional explanation links it to meat fraud in times of war and scarcity, when meat was dear: in this account, skinned cats and hares look alike, and dishonest merchants marinate cat meat to mask its smell and pass it off as hare. This story illustrates the deception, but does not establish when the expression arose.
Create your account to continue with this topic in Falando.
Free account. A1 lessons included. A2–C2 content requires a subscription.
