Fifty Animal Idioms
One of the reasons English is so difficult to learn is because it is a language full of idioms. An idiom is a combination of words that has a figurative meaning separate from the actual definitions of the words used. There are an estimated 25,000 idioms in the English language - and many of them feature animals!
- dropping like flies - dying or collapsing in large numbers / giving up on or pulling out of an endeavour in large numbers
- fly on the wall - an unnoticed witness
- fly in the ointment - a small problem which nonetheless spoils the whole plan
- ants in your pants / antsy - agitated or restless due to nervousness or excitement
- to make a beeline - to move swiftly and directly towards something or someone
- bee’s knees - an excellent person or thing – of the highest quality (see cat’s pyjamas)
- birds and the bees - a euphemism for sex education – the basic facts about reproduction as told to a child
- a little bird(y) told me - told by a secret informant
- to kill two birds with one stone - to accomplish two objectives at once.
- bird’s-eye view - view from above
- as the crow flies - in a straight line
- dead as a dodo - unmistakably dead
- sitting duck - an easy target, vulnerable to attack
- to chicken out - to opt out of doing something because of being frightened
- wild goose chase - an absurd or pointless mission
- pecking order - the social hierarchy
- cock and bull story - a far-fetched and unlikely story
- to take the bull by its horns - to directly confront a problem
- “Holy cow!” - an exclamation of surprise or shock
- until the cows come home - for a long, indefinite, amount of time
- to horse around - to behave in a playful but silly and noisy manner
- dark horse - a less well-known competitor or candidate who succeeds to an unexpectedly high level
- “Hold your horses!” - an expression requesting someone to wait a moment/hold on/slow down
- straight from the horse’s mouth - directly from the best-informed authority
- donkey work - the boring/gruelling part of a job
- to go stag - to go to an event (as a male) without a partner
- scapegoat - a person or group unfairly blamed for something that they have not done
- in two shakes of a lamb’s tail - in a very short amount of time
- to go the whole hog - to fully commit to an act
- pig-out - a session of excessive eating
- catnap - a short sleep during the day
- cat’s pyjamas - an excellent person or thing – of the highest quality (see bee’s knees)
- to let the cat out of the bag - to expose a secret
- cat call - a shrill shout or whistle expressing disapproval (see wolf whistle)
- “Cat got your tongue?” - a question directed to someone who is being unusually silent
- raining cats and dogs - raining heavily
- to let sleeping dogs lie - to avoid interfering with a situation so as not to cause trouble
- in the dog house - in disgrace/trouble
- hair of the dog - an alcoholic beverage consumed to cure a hangover
- dog eat dog - a phrase used to describe a situation which is competitive to the point that people are willing to harm/undermine each other in order to succeed
- rat race - a situation in which people are fiercely competitive for wealth or power
- to smell a rat - to suspect a trick/lie
- fishy - suspicious
- to have bigger/other fish to fry - to have better things to do
- a different kettle of fish - an entirely different thing
- red herring - an intentionally misleading clue or piece of information
- crocodile tears - fake or insincere tears
- wolf whistle - a whistle or call with a rising and falling pitch which expresses admiration but in a predatory, victimising manner (see catcall)
- elephant in the room - an obvious and usually uncomfortable truth that remains unaddressed
- to get the lion’s share - to receive the largest portion
24 Mar 2014
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