Why Do We Say March ‘Comes In Like a Lion, Goes Out Like a Lamb’?

Most people love a good idiom. These metaphorical phrases pepper everyday conversations, whether someone is “getting the pink slip,” “sticking out like a sore thumb,” or “breaking a leg.” 

Weather has its own medley of idioms. March, for example, is known to “come in like a lion, go out like a lamb.” But why is it that we compare the month of March to two animals? And, perhaps more importantly, why does it ring so true?

1. The Lion and the Lamb
2. Why is March’s weather so unpredictable?

The Lion and the Lamb

As The Paris Review reports, the phrase comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb in reference to March pops up in a compendium called Gnomologia: Adagies and Proverbs; Wise Sentences and Witty Sayings, Ancient and Modern, Foreign and British. This work, written in 1732 by a man named Thomas Fuller, contains one of the earliest printed mentions of the now-famous saying.

Now, nearly 300 years later, people still utter some variant of the idiom as the third month of the year rolls around. There’s more than one theory as to why this phrase caught on. The first is the literal nature of the saying: Lions are known to be ravenous, strong creatures (much like the sometimes unforgiving climate of early March), while lambs are calm and docile (as the weather can be toward the end of the month). 

But that isn’t the only reason why it might have stuck. Some speculate the night sky plays a part as well: The constellation Leo rises in the east at the start of March, while Aries sets in the west as the month draws to close. The former takes the shape of a lion, while the latter is represented by a ram.

Why is March’s weather so unpredictable?

If March could be summed up in one word, it would be volatile. The transition period from winter to spring can bring snow storms and freezing temperatures one week, then have people raiding their closets for more summery attire the next.

That uneasy mix of Arctic fronts and warmer, more humid air can lead to extreme weather events like tornadoes, storms, and high wind. Heavy rain falling atop still-frozen ground can also lead to flooding, especially when you add melting snow into the mix. 

Longer days and warmer temperatures can tame things a bit toward the end of the month. But while most like to believe that the popular idiom is correct that the end of March will always bring lamb-like weather, it’s more of a wish rather than a meteorological prediction. Sometimes, that lion can keep on pushing all the way until those April showers start.

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