Meaning & Analysis
The phrase literally means having a cloak or overcoat available to provide protection against rainfall, emphasizing practical readiness for bad weather.
Insights
A Ready Excuse
The proverb primarily signifies having a ready-made excuse, alibi, or pretext to conceal one's true intentions or justify questionable actions, thereby deflecting blame or suspicion.
Precaution and Contingency
It represents a form of prudent foresight or a contingency plan. Just as a cloak protects from a storm, this metaphorical 'cloak' is a safeguard kept in reserve to handle unexpected trouble, criticism, or adversity.
Deception and Concealment
The phrase underscores the idea of deliberate deception. The 'cloak' is not just an excuse but a tool for actively hiding the truth, allowing one to operate with 'close dealing' and maintain a facade of innocence.
Historical Symbolism of Concealment
The cloak serves as a powerful symbol of concealment, historically used to hide identity or illicit items. This proverb transfers that physical function to the social realm, where an excuse or alibi ('the cloak') is used to hide one's true, often dishonorable, intentions from the 'rain' of social scrutiny or consequences.
Psychological Preparedness
The proverb reflects a cynical yet practical understanding of human psychology. It acknowledges the common impulse to prepare justifications for questionable actions, highlighting a universal tendency toward self-preservation and reputation management in the face of potential exposure or blame.
Literary and Cultural Idiom
Frequent use in 16th and 17th-century literature, as seen in the quotations, indicates its role as a common idiom for duplicity. It often appears in contexts where characters must invent plausible stories to cover their tracks, revealing a cultural preoccupation with appearance versus reality.
Rhetorical Devices
Extended Metaphor
The proverb is built on a central metaphor where the 'cloak' represents an excuse and the 'rain' symbolizes trouble, scrutiny, or negative consequences.
Symbolism
The cloak and rain function as potent symbols for concealment and adversity, respectively, giving the phrase a rich, layered meaning that is instantly understood.
Conciseness
Its impact comes from its brevity and simple, concrete imagery, making the abstract idea of having a pretext easy to remember and apply.
Transcription
Quotations
Ye, for your wyt is cloked for the rayne.
This lustie Codrus was cloked for the rayne.
What cloke for the rayne so euer ye bryng me, My selfe can tell best where my shoe doth wrying me.
Whatsoeuer was saied by the recorder, in his excuse, was taken as a cloke for the rain.
As yf a man beynge taken in the house of a fayre womanne whiche hath no good name, fayneth that he came thyther to haue a shyrte made of her, or for other affayres. This is a clooke for the rayne.
Shee can finde a cloke for euery rayne.
'Tis good to haue a cloake for the raine, a bad shift is better than none at all.
A verie good cloake mistres for the raine, And therein I must needes commend your wit, Close dealing is the safest.
Howe durst thou leaue them without a cloke for the raine.
A queane hath euer a cloke for the rayne.
'Tis a very dark night, sir; you'll not haue a cloak for the rain.
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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