ProverbHuman NatureInternational origin

When the cat's away, the mice will play

Meaning: People behave freely when authority is absent.

Origin: Both French and English have had the saying since the Middle Ages. Shakespeare's Henry V (1599) uses the image for the Scots raiding England while its king is at war in France: "the weasel Scot / Comes sneaking and so sucks her princely eggs, / Playing the mouse in absence of the cat."

Equivalents in French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, and 5 more languages

  • French: Quand le chat n'est pas là, les souris dansent (literally: When the cat isn't there, the mice dance)
  • Spanish: Cuando el gato no está, los ratones bailan (literally: When the cat's not there, the mice dance)
  • Japanese: 鬼の居ぬ間に洗濯 (Oni no inu ma ni sentaku) (literally: Do laundry while the demon's away)
  • German: Ist die Katze aus dem Haus, tanzen die Mäuse auf dem Tisch (literally: When the cat is out of the house, the mice dance on the table)
  • Italian: Quando il gatto non c'è i topi ballano (literally: When the cat's not there, the mice dance)
  • Dutch: Als de kat van huis is, dansen de muizen (literally: When the cat is away, the mice dance)
  • Russian: Без кота мышам раздолье (Bez kota mysham razdol'ye) (literally: Without the cat, the mice run free)
  • Polish: Gdy kota nie ma, myszy harcują (literally: When the cat's gone, the mice frolic)
  • Korean: 호랑이 없는 골에 토끼가 왕 노릇 한다 (Horangi eomneun gore tokkiga wang noreut handa) (literally: In a valley without a tiger, the rabbit plays king)
  • Arabic: إذا غاب القط العب يا فار (Idhā ghāb al-qiṭṭ, ilʿab yā fār) (literally: When the cat's away, play, mouse)

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