pig in a poke
pig in a poke noun: something whose true value is concealed or unknown and may be lower than expected by the buyer or claimed by the seller, especially something offered for sale.
Noun
pig in a poke (plural pigs in a poke or pigs in pokes)
pig in a poke meaning in Indonesian
pig in a poke in Indonesian
- something whose true value is concealed or unknown
- kucing dalam karung
Forms of pig in a poke
| plural | pigs in a poke |
|---|---|
| plural | pigs in pokes |
Origin of pig in a poke
Reportedly from the practice of substituting a butchered cat, etc. for a suckling pig when sold in a sack at a market. Other theories circulate but all involve the purchase of a cat in a bag, where the buyer expected better. poke refers to a bag or sack, and is related to pouch.
Questions about pig in a poke
- What does pig in a poke mean?
- Pig in a poke means something whose true value is concealed or unknown and may be lower than expected by the buyer or claimed by the seller, especially something offered for sale.
- What is pig in a poke in Indonesian?
- Pig in a poke in Indonesian is kucing dalam karung. See Pig in a poke meaning in Indonesian.
- What part of speech is pig in a poke?
- Pig in a poke is a noun.
- What is the plural of pig in a poke?
- The plural of pig in a poke is pigs in a poke.
Words near pig in a poke in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: pig in a poke (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-pig in a poke.ogg.
Cite this entry: “pig in a poke.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pig_in_a_poke. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.