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, and German
- 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)
More proverbs about Human Nature
- Lightning never strikes twice — Rare events are unlikely to happen to the same person twice.
- To each their own — Everyone has their own preferences and choices.
- You can't teach an old dog new tricks — It's difficult to change established habits.
- Hunger is the best sauce — Food tastes better when you're truly hungry.
- The hand that rocks the cradle rules the world — Mothers have profound influence on society.
- No news is good news — The absence of bad news is itself good news.