A Pig in a Poke

See the world and remind the buyer to beware!  According to Wikipedia, A pig in a poke is a thing that is bought without first being inspected, and thus of unknown authenticity or quality. A "poke" is a bag, so the image is of a concealed item being sold. Starting in the 19th century, this idiom was explained as a confidence trick where a farmer would substitute a cat for a suckling pig when bringing it to market. When the buyer discovered the deception, he was said to "let the cat out of the bag", that is, to reveal that which is secret. The idiom exists in other cultures:  the French "acheter (un) chat en poche" and the Dutch "een kat in de zak kopen" (both meaning: to buy a cat in a bag) refer to an actual scam of this nature, while the English idiom "sold a pup" refers to a similar con.

See the world and remind the buyer to beware!  According to Wikipedia, A pig in a poke is a thing that is bought without first being inspected, and thus of unknown authenticity or quality. A "poke" is a bag, so the image is of a concealed item being sold. Starting in the 19th century, this idiom was explained as a confidence trick where a farmer would substitute a cat for a suckling pig when bringing it to market. When the buyer discovered the deception, he was said to "let the cat out of the bag", that is, to reveal that which is secret. The idiom exists in other cultures:  the French "acheter (un) chat en poche" and the Dutch "een kat in de zak kopen" (both meaning: to buy a cat in a bag) refer to an actual scam of this nature, while the English idiom "sold a pup" refers to a similar con.