raise Cain
Appearance
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Cain, the biblical son of Adam and Eve, the first murderer. The expression implies bringing or returning that evil to Earth.
Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Verb
[edit]raise Cain (third-person singular simple present raises Cain, present participle raising Cain, simple past and past participle raised Cain)
- (idiomatic) To cause trouble or commotion; to behave in a disruptive manner.
- If those boys have been out drinking and raising Cain again tonight.
- 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:
- "I seen old Flint in the corner there, behind you; as plain as print, I seen him; and if I get the horrors, I'm a man that has lived rough, and I'll raise Cain."
Synonyms
[edit]- (cause trouble): raise the Devil, raise hob, raise hell, raise the roof
Translations
[edit]to cause trouble
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References
[edit]- “raise Cain”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.