Raining cats and dogs

I am amused by this English expression. It means that it is raining very heavily, but if you try to visualize it you will find it very comical.  I suspect this is also the inspiration for the song “It’s raining men” by the Weather Girls which was a hit when I was much younger.

It is less amusing in real life when we get a “tropical downpour” in an area where this is not common.  This was one of those once or twice a year days.  I hear many people got their basements flooded, but luckily the terrain here is not prone to flooding – the house is not far from the top of a gentle slope down toward the river, so water drains easily.  Still, even getting home from work was an adventure, as the commute bus had to wade through a small lake that had covered the road.  The traffic had to slow way down to get through, so there was a long line, but luckily none of the cars got their motors drowned. It looked to be a near miss though, judging from how deep in the water they were.

Needless to say, I did not get any lawn mowed today.