Curiosity killed the cat expression
I remember hearing once a three-part expression but have not been able to remember or find the third part in years.
- Curiosity killed the cat.
- Satisfaction brought him back.
What is the third?
Solution 1:
I don't believe there is a third part. A quick Google search comes up with the oldest source of the saying being a 1598 play by Ben Jonson called Every Man in His Humour:
Helter skelter, hang sorrow, care'll kill a Cat, up-tails all, and a Louse for the Hangman.
A variant is in Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (Brewer, 1898):
Care killed the Cat. It is said that a cat has nine lives, but care would wear them all out.
According to Wikipedia (which I'm always skeptical of, but in this case provides external references for its claim):
On 10 August 1905, The Galveston Daily News newspaper (page 6) printed the following
quotation without the word satisfaction:
Curiosity killed a cat; but it came back.
On 23 December 1912, the earliest known printed reference to this variation of the
proverb is found in The Titusville Herald newspaper (page 6):
You will find greater values here. We are told:
"Curiosity killed the cat,
But satisfaction brought it back."
It is the same story with groceries.
"Prices will sell Groceries, but it is always final-
ity that brings the buyer back."
By 15 May 1924, the proverb appears to have been well known, as this quote from
The Jewell Record newspaper (page 3) indicates:
Come May 19th and 21st and see this puzzle completed. As the saying goes
"Curiosity killed a cat, satisfaction brought it back."
Thanks to a comment, "Curiosity killed a cat—satisfaction brought it back again" appeared in Veal Breaded: A Comedy in One Act (1913).
If there is a variation of the saying that includes a third line, it's not one I know of or could quickly find.
Solution 2:
I remember “ information made him fat”