Without the presence of authority, people will do as they please even of breaking the rules

Etymology:

  • This idiom has been used in many languages since the 17th century. It is natural that if there is a cat in the house, the mice are very reluctant to come out of holes. On the other hand, of the cat is not in the home, mice often tend to feel safer and rarely hide. The expression uses “the cat” as an authoritative figure to describe the situation when the authority is not present on the occasion.
239 Views

As soon as the parents left, the children started a fight. When the cat’s away, the mice will play.

Submitted on February 25, 2019

Translation

Find a translation for the When the Cat's Away, the Mice will Play phrase in other languages:

عندما تكون القطة بعيدة ، ستلعب الفئران

Wenn die Katze weg ist, spielen die Mäuse

kiam la kato estos for, la musoj ludos

cuando el gato no está, los ratones jugarán

kun kissa on poissa, hiiret leikkivät

Quand le chat n'est pas là, les souris dansent

amikor a macska távol van, az egerek játszanak

երբ կատուն հեռու է, մկները կխաղան

saat kucing pergi, tikus akan bermain

quando il gatto è via, i topi giocheranno

猫がいないときはねずみが遊ぶ

cum cattus scriptor absente mures et ludere

når katten er borte, vil musene leke

gdy kota nie będzie, myszy będą grać

când pisica va fi departe, șoarecii vor juca

когда кошка уйдет, мыши будут играть

när katten är borta kommer mössen att spela

جب بلی دور ہوجائے گی ، چوہے کھیلے گیں

Khi mèo đi, chuột sẽ chơi

當貓離開時,老鼠會玩

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to When the Cat's Away, the Mice will Play

How to pronounce this phrase?

Discuss this When the Cat's Away, the Mice will Play phrase with the community:

0 Comments

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this When the Cat's Away, the Mice will Play definition to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "When the Cat's Away, the Mice will Play." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Mar. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/when-the-cats-away,-the-mice-will-play_45131>.

    We need you!

    Help us build the largest human-edited phrases collection on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a phrases master?

    »
    Seems like the _________ caught his tongue!
    A cat
    B mouse
    C fridge
    D house

    Browse Phrases.com