curiosity killed the cat

alternative curiosity killed a cat · alternative curiosity kills the cat

1. One should not be curious about things that can be dangerous.

   They say curiosity killed a cat once, so I will take warning and let things remain as they are.

   1868 October 28, “Aunt Hetty’s Stratagem”, in Waterford Mirror & Tramore Visiter, Waterford, Munster: […] John S. Palmer, […], →OCLC, page [4], column 3

   3 more examples

   When one interviewer asks why she [Anita O’Day] started using it [heroin], she replies facetiously, “Curiosity killed the cat,” then flashes a toothy smile.

   2008 August 15, Stephen Holden, “Fraught Life of a Cast-Iron Songstress”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 01 May 2014

   “Imagine the setup – a person is told to sit in a chair with wires attached to their skin, and a button that will deliver a harmless but uncomfortable shock, and they are told to just sit there and entertain themselves with their thoughts,” she [Jessica Andrews-Hanna] said. “As they sit there, strapped to this machine, their mind starts to wander, and it naturally goes to that shock – was it really that bad?[”] “What are the experimenters really interested in? Perhaps this is a case where curiosity killed the cat.”

   2014 July 3, Ian Sample, “Shocking but true: students prefer jolt of pain than being made to sit and think”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Jul 2014

   Curiosity killed the cat — and it got the best of these bears. Watch as a trio of mischievous baby black bears in Vernon Township, New Jersey, were chased off by a protective dog after one curious cub climbed a second-floor balcony.

   2021 May 24, “Cute bear cub scared off by family dog”, in New York Post, New York, N.Y.: News Corp, →ISSN, →OCLC

   Synonyms: care killed the cat