kaupa köttinn í sekknum

Icelandic

Etymology

From kaupa (“to buy”) and köttinn (“the cat”) the definite accusative singular form of köttur (“a cat”) and í (“in”) and sekknum (“the sack”) the definite dative singular of sekkur (“a sack”), literally meaning to "buy the cat in the sack".

Idiom

kaupa köttinn í sekknum (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative keypti köttinn í sekknum, supine keypt köttinn í sekknum)

1. (transitive, idiomatic) to be sold a pig in a poke