curiosity killed the cat

curiosity killed the cat

proverb Inquisitiveness can be dangerous, especially when it extends to things one does not need to know about. I think you'll offend her by asking such personal questions—curiosity killed the cat, after all. I know curiosity killed the cat, but I can't stop the investigation until I know where the donations are really going.
See also: cat, curiosity, killed
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Curiosity killed the cat.

Prov. Being curious can get you into trouble. (Often used to warn someone against prying into other's affairs.) Jill: Where did you get all that money? Jane: Curiosity killed the cat.
See also: cat, curiosity, killed
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

curiosity killed the cat

It's best to mind one's own business. For example, Don't ask about his divorce-curiosity killed the cat. This cautionary expression sounds like the moral of some fable or folktale, but any such origin for it has been lost. The first recorded use was in O. Henry's Schools and Schools (1909).
See also: cat, curiosity, killed
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

curiosity killed the cat

You say curiosity killed the cat to warn someone that they might suffer harm themselves if they try to find out about matters that do not involve them. `Where are we going?' Calder asked. `Curiosity killed the cat, dear. You'll find out soon enough.'
See also: cat, curiosity, killed
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

curiosity killed the cat

being inquisitive about other people's affairs may get you into trouble. proverb
See also: cat, curiosity, killed
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

curiosity killed the ˈcat

(saying) used to tell somebody not to ask so many questions, especially in reply to a question that you do not want to answer: ‘Are you two thinking of getting married by any chance?’ ‘Now, now. Curiosity killed the cat!’
See also: cat, curiosity, killed
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • curiosity
  • teach a man to fish
  • it takes a village
  • village
  • a man is judged by his deeds, not by his words
  • actions speak louder than words
  • best-laid plans go astray, the
  • the best-laid plans
  • the best-laid plans go astray
  • the best-laid plans of mice and men
References in periodicals archive
Curiosity Killed The Cat posters were on many walls back in the '80s around London, with frontman Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot most famous for his Frank Spencer-style beret hat.
Then and now back to the '80s
One author, Steven Wright, offered a humorous twist to the proverb about the cat: "Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was a suspect."
What killed the cat?
RICK ASTLEY joins Bananarama, Curiosity Killed the Cat, ABC, Paul Young and more for the Here and Now at the Echo Arena, Liverpool tomorrow night.
I still get a tingle from singing; His face used to adorn many a teenage girl's bedroom, but these days - as Emma Pinch discovers - Rick Astley prefers to live life anonymously
Do not these scientists know that curiosity killed the cat?
Frankencats, cornstarch, chromosomes, and confusion
If so, please remember one thing: Curiosity killed the cat.
"What's behind that missing cover?" I wonder
Remember, curiosity killed the cat. Make information bite-sized and build the curiosity.
Turning Web site visitors into franchise leads: having clear objectives converted into clear calls to action will give a design team a boost in determining exactly what the franchise company wants to achieve
Remember, although curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought him back ...
This cat's alive! Absence of curiosity dooms fact-based decision-making
It causes people to be curious when we know from childhood curiosity killed the cat.
'Do I need a gun?' ... Well, do you?
"Curiosity killed the cat" and if it's good enough for a cot it ought to be good enough for us.
Ceecurets of shootin'
"Curiosity killed the cat." It's a phrase that Percy Spencer probably heard often growing up since he was such a nosey boy.
Beware: invention at play
Last year's tour, featuring the delights of T'Pau, Go West and Curiosity Killed the Cat, sold out with people hungry to relive that moment in time - or at least feel that the sounds of the '80s were much more than suggestions on a contemporary karaoke song sheet or discarded Frankie Says...
Going back to the FUTURE
So , too, critics of their method could be directly rebutted as "narrow-minded and poorly taught," as Stetsasonic did in "Talkin' All That Jazz" (1988), where even the Godfather of Soul got slapped for speaking out publicly against sampling: "Tell the truth, James Brown was old / 'Til Eric and Rakim came out with 'I Got Soul.'" With his next project, the epochal 3 Feet High and Rising (1989), Prince Paul's sonic range took a quantum leap into the esoteric, patching comedy skits and general looniness into a heady Day-Glo mix of musical genres (Curiosity Killed the Cat vs.
Princes among thieves: sampling the '80s
They just do not want to know, [and they are] ever mindful that -- as somebody said -- "curiosity killed the cat." No, curiosity did not kill the cat, ignorance did!
Ignorance kills the cat: an interview with an award-winning high school chemistry teacher. (Articles)
CURIOSITY KILLED THE CAT. Fortunately, people are not cats -- they are our neighbors, employees, friends and relatives - and they are precious, This becomes immediately clear when speaking to Dr.
Stephen Prescott: curiouser and curiouser. (people)
But if curiosity killed the cat, this one is asking for it.
Her cat, my dog