Quick answer: "To walk like the cat around the hot porridge" is a European idiom meaning to avoid getting to the point. It is the Nordic, Dutch and German equivalent of the English "to beat around the bush." The image is a hungry cat circling a bowl of porridge that is too hot to eat: it wants it badly, but won't commit.
English speakers beat around the bush. Half of northern Europe, meanwhile, has spent several centuries picturing a cat pacing anxiously around a steaming bowl of porridge. Same meaning. Considerably more porridge.
Here is where the saying comes from, how it sounds in each language, and why we decided it was time somebody told the cat to just get on with it.
What does "walk like the cat around the hot porridge" mean?
It describes someone who avoids saying or doing the thing they actually need to say or do. They hesitate, stall, hint, change the subject and generally circle the issue without ever touching it. Think of a manager who spends ten minutes on small talk before mentioning the reorganisation, or a friend who asks "how are you, really?" five times before admitting they need to borrow your car.
In everyday use it is almost always a gentle accusation or a request to stop: "Let's not walk around the porridge" is the Scandinavian way of saying "just tell me."
Why a cat, and why porridge?
The logic is surprisingly sound. A cat smells something delicious and warm, but the porridge is far too hot to eat. So it circles the bowl, testing first one side and then the other, hoping to find a spot that has cooled down enough. The Dutch language institute Onze Taal describes exactly this behaviour, and notes that older Dutch versions sometimes swapped the cat for a fly doing the same thing.
That is also why the idiom has two shades of meaning in some languages: impatient longing (the cat really wants that porridge) and indecision (it won't risk burning its tongue).
As for the porridge: in much of northern Europe it was the everyday staple for centuries, cooked in a pot over the fire and very often too hot to touch. In Scandinavia, rice porridge is still central to Christmas, and tradition says you should leave a bowl out for the household gnome. Porridge was simply the most relatable hot food in the house.
The idiom in six languages
The saying travelled across the North Sea and the Baltic, and you can still find close relatives of it from Oslo to Amsterdam to Helsinki.
| Language | Original | Literal English |
|---|---|---|
| Norwegian | gå som katten rundt grøten | walk like the cat around the porridge |
| Swedish | gå som katten kring het gröt | walk like the cat around hot porridge |
| Danish | gå som katten om den varme grød | walk like the cat around the hot porridge |
| German | wie die Katze um den heißen Brei herumschleichen | creep around like the cat around the hot porridge |
| Dutch | als een kat om de hete brij draaien | turn like a cat around the hot porridge |
| Finnish | kiertää kuin kissa kuumaa puuroa | circle like a cat around hot porridge |
Linguist Simon Ager's Omniglot blog also lists a Czech cousin, which drops the cat entirely and simply walks around the hot porridge.
How old is the saying?
Old. The Swedish version is said to have been first documented in 1641. Norwegian writers generally trace their own version back to Danish, which makes sense given the centuries the two countries shared.
In German and Dutch, the cat has slowly wandered out of everyday speech. As The Local Germany explains, most Germans today simply say um den heißen Brei herumreden, "to talk around the hot porridge," while the full cat version is less common. Dutch speakers similarly tend to shorten it to om de hete brij heen draaien. The porridge, notably, survived in every language. Nobody was willing to give up the porridge.
What is the English equivalent?
The closest English match is "to beat around the bush," which first appeared in writing in the 16th century and comes from hunting: beaters thrashed bushes to drive birds and game out into the open, rather than going straight for the animal. "Pussyfooting around" is another good match, and it even keeps the cat.
Honestly, though, we think the porridge version wins. Beating a bush is something you do on purpose. Circling a bowl of porridge you desperately want but are too scared to touch is a far more accurate description of how most of us approach difficult conversations.
How to use it in a sentence
- Norwegian: Slutt å gå rundt grøten, si det du skal si. (Stop walking around the porridge, say what you need to say.)
- Swedish: Låt oss inte gå som katten kring het gröt. (Let's not walk like the cat around hot porridge.)
- German: Rede nicht um den heißen Brei herum! (Don't talk around the hot porridge!)
- English, Untied Nations edition: "Let's not walk around the porridge. Did you eat my leftovers or not?"
Let's not walk around the porridge
We love this idiom because it captures something universal in a way that is completely, gloriously specific. Every culture has people who avoid the point. Only some of them decided the best way to describe it was a nervous cat and a bowl of oats.
So we flipped it into a slogan for the direct, the decisive and the recovering overthinkers: Let's Not Walk Around The Porridge. On our hoodie, sweatshirt and t-shirt, it comes with a very cool cat in sunglasses who has clearly stopped circling and taken charge of the porridge situation.
- Let's Not Walk Around The Porridge Cat Hoodie
- Let's Not Walk Around The Porridge Cat Sweatshirt
- Let's Not Walk Around The Porridge Cat T-Shirt
- Let's Not Walk Around The Porridge Corduroy Hat
Or browse everything new in Recent Drops.
Frequently asked questions
What does "walk like the cat around the hot porridge" mean?
It means avoiding the point, hesitating or not saying directly what you mean. It is the Scandinavian, Dutch and German equivalent of "to beat around the bush."
Which languages use the porridge idiom?
Versions exist in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, German, Dutch and Finnish, with a related form in Czech.
Why is the porridge hot?
Because the joke depends on it. The cat wants the porridge but it is too hot to eat, so it circles the bowl looking for a cooler spot instead of committing.
How do you say "beat around the bush" in Norwegian?
Å gå som katten rundt grøten, often shortened to gå rundt grøten.
How do you say "beat around the bush" in German?
Most commonly um den heißen Brei herumreden, literally "to talk around the hot porridge." The older, longer form is wie die Katze um den heißen Brei herumschleichen.