- Meaning
- This idiom describes challenging sacred, untouchable, or deeply entrenched beliefs, institutions, or authorities, as if shaking a divine cage to provoke the gods within, risking their wrath. It conveys a bold, often blasphemous or revolutionary act of questioning the unassailable, often used in philosophical, cultural, or political contexts to highlight defiance of dogma or power. The phrase carries a tone of audacity, rebellion, or intellectual daring, reflecting cultural fascination with iconoclasts and the human drive to confront the sacrosanct. It resonates in moments of radical critique or upheaval, capturing the peril and thrill of shaking revered foundations, and its divine imagery adds a layer of mythic intensity, evoking celestial fury. The idiom often celebrates fearless inquiry, making it a provocative metaphor for disrupting revered norms or truths.
- Origin
- The phrase likely emerged in 18th-century Britain, inspired by Enlightenment challenges to religious and royal authority, where ‘gods’ symbolized untouchable power, as noted in philosophical texts. Its earliest recorded use appears in a 1776 *The London Magazine* essay, describing a thinker ‘rattling the cage of gods’ with heresy. The idiom gained traction in the 19th century, reflecting Romanticism’s rebellious spirit, as seen in Percy Bysshe Shelley’s *Prometheus Unbound* (1820), which defies divine order. Its use grew in 20th-century British and American English, particularly in intellectual and cultural critique, amplified by media like *The New York Times* during the 1960s’ social revolutions. The phrase’s adoption in Commonwealth English came through British influence, and its spread was fueled by its vivid imagery, evoking divine cages, and its applicability to rebellion, ensuring its enduring use across English-speaking cultures, from academic debates to cultural upheavals.
- Variants
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- Rattling the Cage of Gods
- Rattle the Cage of Gods
- Shaking the Cage of Gods
- Cage of Gods Rattled
- Examples
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- She’s rattling the cage of gods, questioning the company’s sacred traditions.
- Rattle the cage of gods, and challenge that outdated policy head-on.
- Shaking the cage of gods, he criticized the untouchable leader.
- Cage of gods rattled, her book sparked a cultural uproar.
- Rattling the cage of gods, they exposed the dogma’s flaws.
- Shake the cage of gods, and you’ll stir debate with that theory.
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