die Katze im Sack kaufen
to buy a pig in a poke; to buy something sight unseen
Origin
Probably from medieval market trade: swindlers would palm off a worthless cat in a closed sack on unwary buyers instead of a valuable piglet.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Regular comparative (-er + als 'than')Komparativ regelmäßig (-er + als)
- Comparison of equality with 'so … wie' (as … as)Vergleich mit so … wie
- Two-way prepositions with accusative (Wohin? / where to)Wechselpräpositionen mit Akkusativ (Wohin?)
- Two-way prepositions contrast: Wo? vs. Wohin? (where vs. where to)Wechselpräpositionen Kontrast: Wo? vs. Wohin?
- Simple past 'musste' (had to, from müssen)Präteritum 'musste' (müssen)
- Simple past 'wollte' (wanted to, from wollen)Präteritum 'wollte' (wollen)
Examples
Ohne Probefahrt kaufe ich kein – ich will nicht die im .
I won't buy a car without a test drive — I don't want to buy a pig in a poke.