look like something the cat dragged in
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From the habit of domestic cats of bringing home the remains of killed animals.
Verb edit
look like something the cat dragged in (third-person singular simple present looks like something the cat dragged in, present participle looking like something the cat dragged in, simple past and past participle looked like something the cat dragged in)
- (simile) To have a very dishevelled or untidy appearance.
Usage notes edit
- Not to be confused with look what the cat's dragged in.
Further reading edit
- Eric Partridge (2005) “something the cat dragged in; something the cat has brought in”, in Tom Dalzell and Terry Victor, editors, The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, volumes 1 (A–I), London, New York, N.Y.: Routledge, →ISBN, page 355.