What it means
Means it’s absolutely bucketing down, the kind of rain that soaks your socks in ten seconds and turns the street into a mini river. People say it for dramatic effect, not because they think pets are falling out the clouds. It’s an old-school phrase you’ll still hear when the weather’s doing the most and everyone’s moaning about it.
Usage examples
"I was gonna walk to the station, but it’s raining cats and dogs, so I grabbed an umbrella and called a cab instead."
"It was raining cats and dogs by the time we reached the car, soaked through before we found the keys."
"We'd planned a barbecue, but it's raining cats and dogs, so it's crisps and telly instead."
"Take one look outside, mate, it's raining cats and dogs. I'm not binning my trainers for a pint."
"School run was chaos this morning, absolutely raining cats and dogs and every kid got in the car dripping."
Where it comes from
It’s a properly old English idiom. A version turns up in 1651 in Henry Vaughan’s writing with dogs and polecats, and by the 1700s the cats-and-dogs form was in print too. Why those two animals stuck is still unclear, but the phrase itself is well attested and very real.
