Sometimes at the medieval markets, unscrupulous vendors would try to pass off an inferior animal (like a common cat) for a chicken, which was considered a delicacy.
Since the transaction took place with the animal handed over in a sack, the buyer couldn’t really tell what he got until he opened the sack - if he was ripped off, that’s how the expression “letting the cat out of the bag” - meaning the truth finally comes out - originated.
“Since the transaction took place with the animal handed over in a sack, the buyer couldn’t really tell what he got until he opened the sack - if he was ripped off, that’s how the expression “letting the cat out of the bag” - meaning the truth finally comes out - originated.”
You mean it wasn’t how “Buyer Beware” came about?
the expression “letting the cat out of the bag”
Same for “Never buy a pig in a poke.”