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dogs, cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained, it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof – hence the saying It’s raining cats and dogs. The most probable derivation of this phrase connects it with northern mythology and the symbolic significance of the cat as a signal of rains and storms. rats abandon a sinking ship (бежать) как крысы с тонущего корабля M E A N I N G : selfish and cowardly people flee from a disastrous situation leaving others to face it Like rats abandoning a sinking ship, they switched to the other candidate when theirs began to lose. ORIGIN: This expression derives from an old superstition that if rats actually deserted a ship it was doomed to sink. It also plays on the image of the rat as a low, despicable creature in view of the old naval tradition that it is noble to go down with your ship. 105