List of Animal Idioms in English with meanings and sentences

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RedRose64

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Mar 15, 2007
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act like an ape

MEANING: behave badly, wildly, foolishly

EXAMPLE:

He has been acting like an ape ever since his girlfriend left him.

bark up the wrong tree

MEANING: choose the wrong course of action

EXAMPLE:

He is barking up the wrong tree. He accuses me of causing the computer problem but I was away at the time.

Her bark is worse than her bite

MEANING: someone’s words are worse than their action

EXAMPLE:

You shouldn’t worry about her. Her bark is worse than her bite and she is really a very nice person.




bet on the wrong horse

MEANING: misread the future

EXAMPLE:

He is betting on the wrong horse if he keeps supporting the other city in their bid for the games.

bull in a china shop

MEANING: a person with no tact who upsets others or upsets plans

EXAMPLE:

He is like a bull in a china shop so you should be careful if you invite him to your house for the weekend.

cash cow

MEANING: a good way to make money

EXAMPLE:

The new business is a great cash cow. We are making a lot of money now.

cat get one’s tongue

MEANING: can’t speak because of shyness

EXAMPLE:

The cat must have got her tongue. She did not saying anything at all.

cat nap

MEANING: a short sleep taken during the day

EXAMPLE:

I had a cat nap during the afternoon so I would feel refreshed in the evening.




change horses in midstream

MEANING: make new plans or choose a new leader in the middle of an important activity

EXAMPLE:

They have decided to change lawyers but I told them that they shouldn’t change horses in midstream.

copycat

MEANING: someone who copies another person’s work etc.

EXAMPLE:

He is a copycat according to the other students in the class.

cry wolf

MEANING: give a false alarm; warn of a danger that is not there.

EXAMPLE:

He is crying wolf. There is no real danger or worry about the electrical system causing a fire.

curiosity killed the cat

MEANING: being too nosy may lead a person into trouble

EXAMPLE:

You shouldn’t worry about what he is doing. Remember curiosity killed the cat.

dark horse

MEANING: a candidate little known to the general public

EXAMPLE:

He was a dark horse in the race to be President until he gave some good speeches on TV.

dog-eat-dog

MEANING: ready or willing to fight and hurt others to get what one wants

EXAMPLE:

It is a dog-eat-dog world outside the father said to his young son.

donkey's years

MEANING: a very long time

EXAMPLE:

I talked to my friend for a long time because I hadn't seen her in donkey's years.




dumb bunny

MEANING: stupid or gullible person

EXAMPLE:

He really is a dumb bunny. I can’t believe that he can do such stupid things.

eager beaver

MEANING: a person who is always eager to work or do something extra

EXAMPLE:

She is a real eager beaver and I am sure she will do very well in this company.

eat like a horse

MEANING: eat a lot

EXAMPLE:

Her brother who is 18 years old eats like a horse.

every dog has his day

MEANING: everyone will have his chance or turn; everyone will get what he deserves

EXAMPLE:

Don’t worry about him. Every dog has his day and he will eventually suffer for all the bad things that he is doing.

fraidy-cat

MEANING: someone who is easily frightened (used by children)

EXAMPLE:

The little boy called his friend a fraidy-cat because he wouldn’t climb the tree.




get on one’s high horse

MEANING: behave with arrogance

EXAMPLE:

She is always getting on her high horse and telling people what to do.

get off one’s high horse

MEANING: begin to be humble and agreeable

EXAMPLE:

I wish that she would get off her high horse and begin to think about how other people feel about things.

go ape

MEANING: become highly excited or angry

EXAMPLE:

He will go ape if he sees that you have not finished the work that was due today.

go whole hog

MEANING: do something completely or thoroughly

EXAMPLE:

They went whole hog in their effort to make sure that the convention was a success.

hit the bulls-eye

MEANING: reach the main point

EXAMPLE:

I think that he really hit the bulls-eye when he talked about the problems with the regular staff.

hold one’s horses

MEANING: wait, be patient

EXAMPLE:

Hold your horses for a moment while I make a phone call.

holy cow

MEANING: used to express strong feelings like astonishment, pleasure or anger

EXAMPLE:

Holy cow he said as he saw the car that had hit the street lamp.

horse around

MEANING: rough or noisy play

EXAMPLE:

The teacher told the children to stop horsing around and get ready for class.

horse of a different colour

MEANING: something totally separate and different

EXAMPLE:

Moving to a new location is a horse of a different colour. It was never mentioned in any of our meetings.

horse trade

MEANING: hard and skilful bargaining

EXAMPLE:

We had to do a little horse trading but finally we reached a deal to buy the new house.




in the doghouse

MEANING: in disgrace or disfavour

EXAMPLE:

He is in the doghouse with his wife because he went out drinking three times last week.

kangaroo court

MEANING: a self-appointed group that decides what to do to someone who is supposed to have done wrong.

EXAMPLE:

It was decided in a kangaroo court that he would have to pay for the damage that he had caused to the school building.

lead a dog’s life

MEANING: work hard and be treated unkindly

EXAMPLE:

He is leading a dog’s life since he married the woman who everyone told him not to.

let sleeping dogs lie

MEANING: don’t make trouble if you don’t have to

EXAMPLE:

You should let sleeping dogs lie and not ask him any questions about the argument.




let the cat out of the bag

MEANING: tell something that is supposed to be a secret

EXAMPLE:

She let the cat out of the bag when she began talking about the plans for the new department.

live high on the hog

MEANING: have the best of everything

EXAMPLE:

He has been living high on the hog since he changed jobs and moved to Texas.

lock the barn door after the horse is gone

MEANING: be careful or try to make something certain after it is too late

EXAMPLE:

Now he wants to try and fix his house but it is like locking the barn door after the horse is gone. There was already a flood and the damage is done.

look like the cat that swallowed the canary

MEANING: look very self-satisfied, look as if one just had a great success

EXAMPLE:

You look like the cat that swallowed the canary. What happened?

make a mountain out of a molehill

MEANING: make something that is unimportant seem important

EXAMPLE:

You are making a mountain out of a molehill with your going on and on about his mistake.

monkey business

MEANING: unethical or bad activity, mischief

EXAMPLE:

He should stop that monkey business and try to do the job the correct way.

piggyback

MEANING: sitting or being carried on someone’s back and shoulders

EXAMPLE:

The boy was riding piggyback on his father’s shoulders.




piggy bank

MEANING: a small bank (sometimes in the shape of a pig) for saving money

EXAMPLE:

He has been putting money into his piggy bank to save for a bicycle.

play cat and mouse with someone

MEANING: tease or fool someone

EXAMPLE:

He is playing a cat and mouse game with his company about his plans to quit or not.

put the cart before the horse

MEANING: do things in the wrong order

EXAMPLE:

I think that buying a ticket before we make any plans is putting the cart before the horse.

rain cats and dogs

MEANING: rain very hard

EXAMPLE:

It has been raining cats and dogs all day.

rat out on

MEANING: desert or betray someone

EXAMPLE:

He ratted out on his friends and now they won’t talk to him.

rat race

MEANING: rushing around, confusing way of living that does not seem to have a purpose

EXAMPLE:

He is tired of living in the rat race every day and plans to quit his job soon and do something else.




road hog

MEANING: car driver who takes more than his share of the road

EXAMPLE:

The person in front of me on the highway was a road hog but I tried not to get angry.

sacred cow

MEANING: a person or thing that is never criticized or changed even if it should be

EXAMPLE:

The school lunch program is a sacred cow which they will never change.

scaredy-cat

MEANING: someone who is easily frightened (used by children)

EXAMPLE:

The children were calling their friend a scaredy-cat because she wouldn’t go into the empty house.

smell a rat

MEANING: be suspicious, feel that something is wrong

EXAMPLE:

I smell a rat. There is something wrong with his relationship to the bankers.

straight from the horse’s mouth

MEANING: directly from the person or place where something began

EXAMPLE:

I heard straight from the horse’s mouth that she will be leaving the company next week.

straw that breaks the camel’s back

MEANING: a small trouble which follows other troubles and makes one become angry or do something

EXAMPLE:

Her accusing me of not working hard enough was the straw that broke the camel’s back so I finally asked for a transfer to another section of the company.

tail between one’s legs

MEANING: feel beaten, ashamed (after a scolding etc.)

EXAMPLE:

He left the meeting with his tail between his legs after he was criticized by the president.

take the bull by the horns

MEANING: take decisive action and not worry about the results

EXAMPLE:

My aunt decided to take the bull by the horns and begin preparations for the family reunion.



talk until the cows come home

MEANING: talk for a long time

EXAMPLE:

We can talk until the cows come home this weekend at the lake.

throw someone to the wolves

MEANING: send someone into danger without protection

EXAMPLE:

He decided to throw his co-worker to the wolves when he asked him to go and see the other company.

turn tail

MEANING: run away from trouble or danger

EXAMPLE:

We decided to turn tail and leave the pub before there was a fight.

wildcat strike

MEANING: a strike spontaneously arranged by a group of workers

EXAMPLE:

There was a wildcat strike at the factory and over 100 people walked off the job.

wolf in sheep’s clothing

MEANING: a person who pretends to be good but really is bad

EXAMPLE:

Be careful of that man. He is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
 
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