<P> The idioms pig in a poke and sell a pup (or buy a pup) refer to a confidence trick originating in the Late Middle Ages, when meat was scarce, but cats and dogs were not . The scheme entailed the sale of a suckling pig in a poke . The bag, sold unopened, would actually contain a cat or dog, which was substantially less valuable as a source of meat . The French idiom acheter (un) chat en poche (to buy a cat in a bag) refers to an actual sale of this nature, as do many European equivalents, while the English expression refers to the appearance of the trick . </P> <P> In the past, it was common for small farmers to put a pig in a cloth sack to bring it to market for sale . A poke is a sack or bag . It has a French origin as poque and, like several other French words, its diminutive is formed by adding - ette or - et--hence pocket began life with the meaning "small bag". Poke is still in use in several English - speaking places, including Scotland and some regions of the United States . For example, among English hop growers, a poke is a large sack into which hops are poured to be taken from the picking machine to the oast for drying . </P>

Where did the saying pig in a poke come from
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