ChatterBank1 min ago
Raising Cain
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What is the origin of the phrase 'Raising Cain'?
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The phrase first appeared in print as a joke in a St Louis newspaper in 1840. It said: "Why have we every reason to believe that Adam and Eve were both rowdies? Because they raised Cain." Obviously, it must have been around earlier in spoken English.
On a more serious note, Cain was, of course, the first murderer, as told in the Bible. So, to raise Cain is to cause trouble. You invoke, as it were, Cain's evil spirit.
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