Word.ws English Dictionary

look what the cat's dragged in

look what the cat's dragged in phrase: used as an ironic acknowledgement of someone's arrival, either jocularly or to imply that they are unwelcome or disagreeable in some way.

Phrase

look what the cat's dragged in

  1. (idiomatic) Used as an ironic acknowledgement of someone's arrival, either jocularly or to imply that they are unwelcome or disagreeable in some way.
    • Still facing the mirror, he drawled, ‘Look what the cat's dragged in. Where have you been?’ Gabriel rubbed his chin.2009, Monica Ali, In The Kitchen, Random House, →ISBN, page 526
    • “Well, look what the cat drug in, Sam,” says a familiar voice, which comes, of course, from everywhere and nowhere.2012, Cory Doctorow, Charles Stross, The Rapture of the Nerds, Tor Books, →ISBN, page 283

Synonyms of look what the cat's dragged in

Forms of look what the cat's dragged in

alternative formlook what the cat dragged in
alternative formlook what the cat drug in
alternative formlook who the cat dragged in

Origin of look what the cat's dragged in

From the habit of domestic cats of bringing home the remains of killed animals.

Questions about look what the cat's dragged in

What does look what the cat's dragged in mean?
Look what the cat's dragged in means used as an ironic acknowledgement of someone's arrival, either jocularly or to imply that they are unwelcome or disagreeable in some way.
What part of speech is look what the cat's dragged in?
Look what the cat's dragged in is a phrase.

Words near look what the cat's dragged in in the dictionary

  1. look up and down
  2. look up to
  3. look upon
  4. look what the cat dragged in
  5. look what the cat drug in
  6. look what the cat's dragged in
  7. look what the wind blew in
  8. look who the cat dragged in
  9. look who's talking
  10. look you
  11. look'd

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: look what the cat's dragged in (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-look what the cat's dragged in.ogg.

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