Curiosity Killed the Cat
Asking too many questions can get you into trouble — the proverb adults use to shut down kids and reporters.
Origin
The older form was 'care killed the cat' (i.e., worry; recorded in Ben Jonson's 1598 *Every Man in His Humour* and echoed in Shakespeare's *Much Ado About Nothing*). The 'curiosity' version surfaces in Irish playwright James Allan Mair's 1873 proverb collection and was standard American English by the 1910s. A later rejoinder — 'but satisfaction brought it back' — became popular in the 20th century to defend asking anyway.
Modern usage
Standard parental dismissal of a kid's question, newsroom warning to overly inquisitive reporters, and a recurring caption on every cat photo where the cat is stuck somewhere it shouldn't be. The defiant rejoinder is now almost as well known as the original.
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