raise Cain

English

Etymology

From Cain, the biblical son of Adam and Eve, the first murderer. The expression implies bringing or returning that evil to Earth.

Pronunciation

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Verb

raise Cain (third-person singular simple present raises Cain, present participle raising Cain, simple past and past participle raised Cain)

1. (idiomatic) To cause trouble or commotion; to behave in a disruptive manner.

   If those boys have been out drinking and raising Cain again tonight.

   • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London, Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

     "I seen old Flint in the corner there, behind you; as plain as print, I seen him; and if I get the horrors, I'm a man that has lived rough, and I'll raise Cain."

Synonyms

• (cause trouble): raise the Devil, raise hob, raise hell, raise the roof

Translations

to cause trouble

• Bulgarian: вдигам скандал (vdigam skandal)
• German: Ärger machen, Streit anzetteln
• Italian: fare il diavolo a quattro
• Russian: подня́ть шу́м n (podnjátʹ šúm), буя́нить (ru) n (bujánitʹ)
• Spanish: armar la de san Quintín

References

• “raise Cain”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Anagrams

• Césairian