T T O the T
Decipher this clue to reveal a well known expression; for example 'K The B' = kick the bucket.
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This Wordplay will end on August 12, 2025.
This wordplay ended on 08/12/2025
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Answer to the last Wordplay:
Question: W the C A the M W P
Answer: When the cat's away, the mice will play
Source:
When the person who’s responsible for order isn’t around for one reason or another, some will take advantage of the situation and misbehave. Examples include students getting rowdy when their teacher leaves the room, teenagers throwing a party when their parents are absent for the weekend, or employees leaving early if the boss isn’t around.
The core of this proverb is actually quite ancient, with some speculating that it began as one of Aesop's fables. If Aesop existed at all — a fact still hotly debated — it’s thought he was a Greek storyteller who lived around 600 BCE. There’s no existing tale that illustrates this particular moral, but the saying’s age and reliance on animals acting anthropomorphically lead many to draw parallels to the other works attributed to this legendary figure.
Regardless of who first coined it, the earliest version of the phrase shows up in the 14th century, in Latin: “Dum felis dormit, mus gaudet et exsi litantro,” which translates to “When the cat sleeps, the mouse leaves its hole, rejoicing.” The proverb was so apt and easily relatable that it began showing up all over Europe, starting in the 14th century. According to History of English, examples include:
- French: “Ou chat na rat regne” (“Where there is no cat, the rat is king”)
- Spanish: “Cuando el gato no está los ratones hacen fiesta” (“When the cat is away, the mice have a party”)
- German: “Wenn die Katze aus dem Haus ist, tanzen die Mäuse auf dem Tisch” (“When the cat is away, the mice dance on the table”)
- Russian: "bez kata mysham razdolje’" (“Without a cat, mice have freedom”)
The proverb was first seen in English around 1470 CE, but it was William Shakespeare’s 1599 play Henry V that popularized the saying in its modern form. In Act 1, Scene II, the Duke of Westmorland is addressing the king and his advisors:
But there's a saying very old and true,
'If that you will France win,
Then with Scotland first begin:'
For once the eagle England being in prey,
To her unguarded nest the weasel Scot
Comes sneaking and so sucks her princely eggs,
Playing the mouse in absence of the cat,
To tear and havoc more than she can eat.
(In some versions, it’s the Bishop of Ely, not Westmorland, who utters these lines, but they’re identical.)
The proverb remains very popular today, so much so that people often don’t bother uttering the entire phrase, simply saying, “When the cat’s away…,” leaving the listener to mentally fill in the rest.
These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas
"[An] atmospheric tale of unexpected hope." —Lisa Wingate, New York Times bestselling author
These Blue Mountains
by
Sarah Loudin Thomas
(15 Jul 2025)
352 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.
German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda is stunned to see Fritz's name in a photograph of an American memorial for German seamen who died near Asheville, North Carolina. Determined to reclaim his body and bring closure to his ailing mother, Hedda travels to the US. Her quest takes a shocking turn when, rather than Fritz's body, his casket contains the remains of a woman who died under mysterious circumstances.
Local deputy Garland Jones thought he'd left that dark chapter behind when he helped bury Fritz Meyer's coffin. The unexpected arrival of Hedda, a long-suffering yet captivating woman, forces him to confront how much of the truth he really knows. As they work together to uncover the identity of the woman in the casket and to unravel Fritz's fate, Hedda and Garland grow closer. But with Hedda in the US on borrowed time while Hitler rises to power in Germany, she fears she'll be forced to return home before she can put the ghosts of her past to rest.
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