Filler: Where did the “Pig in a Poke” idiom come from?
Posted By RichC on April 21, 2026
After a pre-posting … but incorrectly dating … Music Monday post (next week) and Tuesday late addition, here’s a humorous social media video that triggered an idiom idea. The video is a “pig in a chair” with the comment of a “pig in a blanket” X.com comment. For me it had me thinking about “pig in a poke” … and wondering where the reference came from?
A “pig in a poke” is an idiom for a purchase or commitment made without examining it first, often resulting in a bad deal or deception. It refers to buying something blindly, where the item’s true value is hidden, likely inferior, or completely different from what was expected.
Aspects of the Phrase:
– Origin: Dating back to medieval times, a “poke” is a sack or bag. Sellers would sometimes try to trick buyers by placing a worthless cat in a bag instead of a suckling pig. If the buyer didn’t “look in the poke” (check the bag) before paying, they were cheated.
– Meaning: It acts as a warning against acting without due diligence, similar to the concept of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). – Common Usage: Used in business, shopping, or negotiations to describe risks, such as “buying a pig in a poke”. – Modern Context: It refers to any blind purchase, such as buying something online that looks fake, or accepting a contract without reading it.
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