<P> The origin of the modern variation is unknown . The earliest known printed reference to the actual phrase `` Curiosity killed the cat '' is in James Allan Mair 's 1873 compendium A handbook of proverbs : English , Scottish , Irish , American , Shakesperean , and scriptural ; and family mottoes , where it is listed as an Irish proverb on page 34 . </P>
<P> The origin of the modern variation is unknown . The earliest known printed reference to the actual phrase `` Curiosity killed the cat '' is in James Allan Mair 's 1873 compendium A handbook of proverbs : English , Scottish , Irish , American , Shakesperean , and scriptural ; and family mottoes , where it is listed as an Irish proverb on page 34 . </P>
where did the phrase curiosity killed the cat come from
where did the phrase curiosity killed the cat come from
in James Allan Mair 's 1873 compendium A handbook of proverbs : English , Scottish , Irish , American , Shakesperean , and scriptural ; and family mottoes
in James Allan Mair 's 1873 compendium A handbook of proverbs : English , Scottish , Irish , American , Shakesperean , and scriptural ; and family mottoes