I came across the claim that the phrase 'raining cats and dogs' comes because when it rained hard cats and dogs fell off the roof. Complete twaddle, of course. (Dogs live on the roof?). A phrase like it was used in 1653. Someone wrote 'it shall rain dogs and polecats'. The modern phrase was first used in 1738 when Jonathan Swift wrote: 'he was sure it would rain cats and dogs'. The truth is nobody knows why this odd phrase began. Maybe it was just a joke.
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