Bolstar Animal Idioms

ANIMAL IDIOMs
(Bolstar compendium)

bear bird bull chicken cow dog duck goat goose hog lion monkey pig rat sheep snake tiger wolf

Idiom -- a phrase that uses words non-literally (i.e. "take a catnap", "goody-two-shoes", "bring home the bacon")

Bear

a bear market = a falling financial market (usually a stock market) where prices of things are falling, or at least not moving up (from the characteristic of a bear not wanting to move when it doesn't want to move compare "a bull market")

	Since our economy has started going bad, we have had a bear market.
	It's been a bear market since the summer of 1998.

a bear of a....(something) = something very difficult to do (similar to a bear an animal with a strong will)

	"This was a bear of a webquest," the student told her friend.
	-- It's a bear of job writing a good report on idioms.

as hungry as a bear = very hungry like a bear preparing for the winter

	I'm as hungry as a bear. I haven't eaten since yesterday.
	She was as hungry as a bear. She was out in the cold all day.

bear down on...(something) = put much effort, much energy into one's activity; put physical pressure on something (from the strength and determination of a bear)

	Bear down on your class assignment. It's due tomorrow.
	Bear down on that stick. The ground is hard.

loaded for bear = prepare very well for an activity (from hunting for a bear --having a very large-sized bullet (or shotgun shell) in one's gun in order to kill a bear (which is known for having great strength)

	"I'm loaded for bear," the hunter told his friend.
	We'd better be loaded for bear if we expect to beat Yorktown High School," the student said as they prepared for the debate."

bird

a bird's-eye view have a bird's eye view of....(something) = see something from directly above it, like a bird would see it

	I had a bird's-eye view of the rock concert in my airplane.
	A bird's-eye view of the city shows that the streets are very straight.

as free as a bird = not controlled (restrained) or stopped from doing what you want to do, like a bird in flying where he wants to fly

	I'm as free as a bird. I can go anywhere in my new car.
	She's as free as a bird now that she moved out of her parent's house.

Birds of a feather flock together. = people (or animals) stay with other people who have the same interests, background, religion, etc.

I like to meet new people who like sports. I guess birds of a feather flock together.

eat like a bird eat a small amount of food (for a period of time or as a normal way)

	My sister eats like a bird. She only weighs 95 pounds.
	I eat like a bird when I have an exam the next week.

for the birds = something unwanted or annoying, or something too small in importance to think about (as birds eat only a small, unimportant amount of food)

	This business is for the birds. I'm not making any money here.
	Your plan for the team is for the birds. It makes no sense and will make the players angry.

kill two birds with one stone = do two things with one action, accomplish two goals with one plan

	Exercise kills two birds with one stone. It makes you healthy and makes you happy.
	Kill two birds with one stone. Enjoy watching the zoo animals and learn about them at the same time.

the birds and the bees = the facts about sex and love

	You should tell your son about the birds and the bees before he goes on his first date.
	I learned about the birds and the bees from my friends.

the early bird catches the worm = the person who gets up early and starts working early has success

	I like to start my day at 5:00 in the morning. The early bird catches the worm.
	The early bird catches the worm. Try getting up earlier in the morning.

bull

a bull in a china shop/like a bull in a china shop = a clumsy, insensitive person near sensitive or delicate things;

When my brother goes to museums, he is like a bull in a china shop. He touches everything roughly.

a bull market = a rising financial market (usually a stock market) where prices of things are rising (from the characteristics of a bull, which moves aggressively) see also "a bear market"

	"Since the economy started going up, we have had a bull market, said the stock market watcher."
	It's been a bull market since the spring of 1999. It's been going higher and higher.

a bull's eye/hit the bull's eye = the center of a target, a perfect shot in archery or marksmanship hit/hit the center of a target, make a perfect shot

	I hit the bull's eye when I shot the arrow.
	"Wow! A bull's eye every time. You can really shoot that gun," he said.

a cock-and-bull story = a story that someone makes up, or that he/she lies about

I heard a cock-and-bull story from a fisherman who caught a fifty-pound trout.

chicken

chicken feed = a small amount of money, similar to the small amount of food a chicken eats

The money I make at the restaurant is chicken feed. I need more money!

Chicken Little = someone who makes false (empty) warnings about an impending doom (close danger). It comes from a fairy tale (a make-believe animal story) about a chicken who was hit on the head by an acorn. He thought the sky was falling, and kept mistakenly warning the other animals about the danger.

My friend is a Chicken Little. He keeps warning us that our city is going to be destroyed by a big bomb.

chicken-hearted; chicken-livered = cowardly, not brave

"Don't be chicken-hearted........be brave," my father told me when we went hunting for bear.

chicken out = loose one's courage, run away from danger or an action because of fear

I wanted to bungee jump yesterday, but I chickened out and just watched.

not count one's chickens before they hatch = not expect good results from something until it actually happens; count one's chickens before they hatch

	"Don't count your chickens before they hatch," my friend told me. (I was celebrating about getting a job which I hadn't gotten yet.)
	You're counting your chickens before they hatch. (i.e. You think that thing will surely be yours, but you shouldn't think that way.)

go to bed with the chickens = go to bed early

I go to bed with the chickens and get up with the early birds.

like the fox guarding the chicken coop = a thief protecting money; or a dangerous person watching over a small child

"Don't let Uncle Jack be the president of the business," I said.." It would be like the fox guarding the chicken coop." (Uncle Jack was sent to prison five years ago for robbing a bank and can't be trusted.)

no spring chicken = not young and fresh anymore (usually said of a woman, who is now middle-aged) a spring chicken is a chicken which was recently hatched.

My girlfriend is no spring chicken. But I love her and want to marry her.

run around like a chicken with his head cut off = be energetically moving around doing things (with no progress or organization). When a chicken is decapitated (his head is cut off for selling or for eating), he/it often runs around and moves uncontrollably because of nerves, not because of anxiety or fear.

I feel like a chicken with his head cut off. I've been really busy all day and haven't gotten much done.

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? = Which of the actions happened first, or which thing caused the other thing to happen? The answer is unknown, because they both seem to be the first cause also used as the noun phrase: the chicken-or-the-egg argument (when people argue over what came first, or caused the other thing to happen)

	I don't know which came first, the chicken or the egg. (My anger resulting from my friend's foolish words, or my friend's foolish words because of my anger.)
	It's the chicken-or-the-egg argument did America's success result from the peoples' philosophy, or did its philosophy result from its success?

The chickens are coming home to roost. = The bad thing that someone did is resulting in bad things happening to him/her now. (similar to justice against the guilty) often used in the noun form, as in "It's good he got hurt. It's the chickens coming home to roost.

John Jones was robbed of his new stereo, but I don't feel sorry for him. The chickens are coming home to roost.

cow

a cash cow = a business activity or product that makes a lot of money (very profitable)

Our computer business is our cash cow. Our book-seller isn't doing so well.

Holy cow! = a comment (interjection) that is uttered when the speaker is surprised or emotionally moved. (slang is not usually used in polite conversation))

Holy cow! That guy has seven kids living in his house.

a sacred cow = a special religious or other cultural icon (symbol or person) that should handled very carefully, or that is not to be criticized, opposed, touched, influenced or debated. (from the Hindu religious practice of protecting and honoring cows)

Don't argue about the importance of her religious practice; she won't consider stopping it or debating it.

til (until) the cows come home = a long, long time; or after a long wait (origin cows coming home to be milked when their udders are full of milk) often used with the words "(can)...(do something)...until the cows come home, but... = can do something for a long, long time, but still nothing will change or nothing will influence someone

	You can talk to her about smoking till the cows come home, but she still won't listen.
	He talked and talked until the cows came home finally he stopped.
	You can talk to her about joining your group till the cows come home, but it's not likely she will join.

dog

an attack dog = a dog who guards a place or people; a person who is employed to hurt or threaten the employer's enemies used often with the verb "call off..." --

call off one's dogs/call off one's attack dog(s) = tell one's henchman (body guard or strong man) to stop bothering or threatening someone

	I just bought an attack dog to protect my property.
	"Hey, call off your attack dogs," the man told the mafia boss.
	I'll call off my dogs when you stop threatening to crush my business.

A barking dog never bites. = someone who talks a lot or makes a lot of noise about something won't actually do anything about it

Don't worry about Charles attacking you. A barking dog never bites.

a dog and pony show/a dog and pony act = a staged presentation (show) that is meant to persuade or influence

This event at the capitol building is just a dog and pony show. I won't be tricked and won't follow their words.

a dog-eat-dog world/It's a dog-eat-dog world = the world of business is not friendly or giving it is filled with people who want to defeat all the competition

I lost my business last year because of the competition. It's a dog-eat-dog world out there.

a doggy bag/a doggie bag = a bag for food which was not eaten at at a restaurant and which is taken home by the customer to give to their dog (sometimes bones are put in it)

"Excuse me, miss. Could I have a doggie bag to put these bones in?"

as sick as a dog/get sick as a dog/sicker than a dog = very sick, usually sick in the stomach

	I ate the whole bag of potato chips and got sick as a dog.
	I woke up sicker than a dog this morning. I drank too much beer last night.

die like a dog = die in a painful way, or a lowly or a dishonorable way

The soldier died like a dog in the middle of the field.

Dog is man's best friend. = dogs are very faithful and desirable to have as a pet, even considered a friend of the owner

Since I bought Fido, I know what they mean by the saying, "Dog is man's best friend."

dog-tired = very tired

After working at factory all day, I was dog-tired.

Every dog has his day./Every dog has its day. = everyone, including unsuccessful people, have glory or success at least once in their life

Don't worry about Sam and his failure at writing. Every dog has his day.

fight like cats and dogs = fight very often or fight fiercely --cats and dogs do not usually get along (do not usually have a good relationship)

My brother and sister fight like cats and dogs.

go to the dogs/went to the dogs = become wasted and unusable because of lack of treatment or bad treatment

	I let my books go to the dogs they were stored outside in the damp air.
	My supplies went to the dogs in about five weeks.

If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas. = if you make friends with bad people, bad things will happen to you

I wouldn't go to his house so often. If you lie down with dogs, you'll get up with fleas.

in the doghouse/really in the doghouse = one's wife (or husband) is angry with one because of bad behavior

	I'm in the doghouse now. I came home at three o'clock in the morning the other day.
	I'm really in the doghouse. My wife hasn't spoken to me for two days.

It's raining cats and dogs. = It is raining very hard.

	Wow! Look outside. It's raining cats and dogs.
	Last night it rained cats and dogs.

let sleeping dogs lie = do not disturb someone or something, or do not get involved with someone or something, because it will cause unnecessary problems and difficulties

	Don't call your ex-wife on the phone anymore. Let sleeping dogs lie.
	I'm going to let sleeping dogs lie. I won't wake him up.

the tail is wagging the dog/like the tail wagging the dog/a case of the tail wagging the dog = the follower is leading the leader, the small part is controlling the whole thing

	Their children control the parents a case of the tail wagging the dog.
	The tail is wagging the dog when the employees try to fire the employer (boss).

top dog = the highest ranking person (leader) in an organization (slang); it comes from the idea of a pack of dogs having one lead dog

	Who is the top dog in that group?
	Jim is top dog during business hours. Jane is top dog after business hours.

You can't teach an old dog new tricks. = If someone is old, or even middle-aged, it is difficult to teach them new skills.

My father isn't able to learn how to use the computer. I guess you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

duck

the ugly duckling; the ugly duckling of the family = a person or animal that is unattractive (not good-looking). It comes from Hans Christian Anderson's fairy tale about the swan who hatched along with a brood of ducks. He looked different from the other ducks; therefore he was considered ugly.

I am the ugly duckling of the family. My sisters and brothers were beautiful and handsome, but I am don't have any good looks at all.

a lame duck = a president or other leader who has no power -- often because they are leaving office or position of power soon. It comes from the sport of hunting, where a duck has been shot and wounded by a hunter and can't fly; therefore he is helpless and powerless.

The President is a lame duck President and can't get anything done in Congress anymore. He finishes his term in office in January.

a sitting duck; like a sitting duck = a duck which is exposed and easily shot at or can easily be killed. It comes from the sport of hunting, where a duck is sitting on a lake or pond and is open to being shot by nearby hunters.

In the war I was a sitting duck for enemy snipers (hidden shooters). My job was to lead the patrols into enemy territory.

get (all) one's ducks in a row = get everything prepared and ready; organize something completely. It is like a shooting gallery or carnival shooting stand where a row of ducks are displayed for the shooter to aim at.

You should get all your ducks in a row before you start a business. It's too risky to be sloppy about it.

If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. If there are many indications (indirect evidence) about something, it probably is that thing.

That man's bad attitude about woman is a good indication that you should not marry him. If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it must be a duck.

take to something like a duck takes to water = be very comfortable and natural in doing something. It comes from the fact that ducks like to swim naturally.

That woman takes to dancing like a duck takes to water. She does is so well and so easily.

like water off a duck's back; water off a duck's back = bad words against someone, or bad things done to someone do not harm the person similar to water that runs off a duck's back easily because of the oil on the surface of the duck's feathers.

	That's mans cursing at me and insulting me was like water off a duck's back. I knew he was drunk at the time, and I knew he didn't try to hurt me.
	It's water off a duck's back. I don't let it bother me.

goat

a scapegoat (make someone a scapegoat) = someone who is blamed for a mistake or crime that someone else is responsible for It comes from the Old Testament practice of symbolically putting the sins (guilt) of the people on a goat and sacrificing the goat to God (killing it in place of man).

I was the scapegoat for my boss's mistake. I lost my job and he didn't face any punishment.

get someone's goat (really get someone's goat) = bother someone, strongly irritate someone

That man really gets my goat. I always try to help him, but he just gets angry with me.

separate the sheep from the goats (see also "sheep") = separate the good or innocent people from the bad or guilty people

We cannot easily separate the sheep from the goats, because people are good at pretending to be good.

goose

a gone goose = someone who is soon going to die or be defeated by an opponent or enemy

That soldier is a gone goose. The enemy has surrounded him and is ready to kill him.

as loose as a goose = very loose (relaxed) or flexible (bendable)

I had two glasses of wine and was as loose as a goose.
My child can bend his arms and legs back a long way. He's loose as a goose.

goose bumps (goose flesh); get goose bumps (just) thinking about it; have good bumps (have goose flesh) = have small bumps on one's skin that looks like the skin of a goose or chicken. It comes from being cold or from being scared (frightened) by something or feeling a moving emotion.

I get goose bumps just thing about the shooting at Columbine High School.; Every time my girlfriend sees a romantic movie, she gets goose bumps.

a wild goose chase/go on a wild goose chase/lead someone on a wild goose chase = a fruitless search
for something or someone; a chase for something or someone with no chance of success

The police went on a wild goose chase looking for the thieves. They were out of the country.

someone's goose is cooked/cook someone's goose = someone is doomed to failure or certain to be punished or killed

My goose is cooked. My father will know that I got into an accident with his car.

the goose that laid the golden egg/kill the goose that laid the golden egg = a goose in a fable that laid eggs of gold; "kill the goose that laid the golden egg" means to destroy the thing that give success or benefit

If you sell you business now, you'll be killing the goose that laid the golden egg.;
I hope this business I'm starting will be the goose that laid the golden egg.

hog

hog the road = drive a car selfishly, carelessly or recklessly

a road hog = someone who drives in a selfish, careless or reckless way

	The man hogged the road. He didn't let anyone get ahead of him.
	He was a road hog but another road hog cut in front of him.

go whole hog = start something or do something with much effort or enthusiasm

	She decided to play tennis and went whole hog buying clothes and equipment.
	I usually go whole hog when I exercise I do it for two hours at a time.

live high off the hog/live high on the hog = enjoy very expensive food, clothing, etc.

I like to live high off the hog. I buy only the best of the best.

eat high off the hog/eat high on the hog = eat very expensive food

When we travel to Europe for vacation, we eat high off the hog.

lion

beard the lion in his den = do something very dangerous and that could lead to death (from the danger of pulling a lion by the beard in his den)

	Jack was bearding the lion in his den when he visited the land of the giants.
	Don't beard the lion in his den; you cannot win an argument with a determined dictator.

go into the lion's den enter the lion's den walk into the lion's den in the lion's den = go into a place of danger

	You're entering the lion's den when you argue with a drunken gangster.
	Stay away from that part of town. It's a lion's den of thieves.

the lion's share of...(something) get the lion's share of...(something) take the lion's share of....(something) = the greatest amount of something (most of it)

	I got the lion's share of the profits of the company. I am the president.
	My friend took the lion's share of the awards at the sports ceremony.

throw someone to the lions = betray someone, send someone to one's enemy in order to save oneself or gain something

	My boss threw me to the lions when he told the newspapers that I was responsible for the company's failure.
	"I will throw you to the lions to save my good name," said the man to his fellow worker.

monkey

throw a monkey wrench into the works = cause something to become disorganized; stop the smooth progress of something;

We were planning to go on vacation, but suddenly my wife got sick. That threw a monkey wrench into the works.

monkey around = make trouble by touching something or doing something that causes difficulty for someone

The father said to his son sternly, "Hey, Mikey, stop monkeying around.! We have a lot of work to do here."

more fun than a barrel of monkeys; as much fun as a barrel of monkeys = a very fun activity or fun entertainment

That party was more fun than a barrel of monkeys.

have a monkey on one's back = be addicted to drugs, especially heroin or other strong depressant

That man really has a monkey on his back. He's been taking heroin for five years.

make a monkey out of someone/make a monkey of someone = make someone look foolish or feel foolish

	My teacher would never make a monkey out of his students. He likes them too much.
	Never make a monkey of Tom. He will beat till you are bloody.

pig

a guinea pig = a human or animal that is used to test something, like a drug or medical experiment

I don't want to be a guinea pig for the government's experiments with social programs.

eat like a pig = eat too much and too fast
make a pig of oneself = eat too much and too fast
pig out and pig out on....(something) (slang) eat until one is completely satisfied, eat too much

	My brother eats like a pig. I don't like to eat out with him.
	He always makes a pig of himself when we eat at restaurants.
	I like to pig out on pizza and french fries.

Rat a dirty rat = someone who betrays someone, or who acts in a very bad way toward a trusted friend (slang)

look like a drowned rat/wet as a drowned rat = very wet with tangled hair and wet clothes

	The man who came out of the river looked like a drowned rat.
	After it rained at the picnic, my friend was as wet as a drowned rat.

rat on someone = tell the police (or other authority) about a friend's or a partner's illegal activity

My friend ratted on me when I stole a camera from the store.

rat out on someone = betray someone, go against someone who was trusted behavior)

The gangster ratted out on his boss.

smell a rat = to feel (detect) some trickery, deception, or lie by someone/something

I smell a rat here. There's something wrong about that plan.

sheep

the black sheep of the family = the member of a family who is a failure, or who is unsuccessful, or who is strange

I always felt like I was the black sheep of the family because I got in trouble every day at home and at school.

a lost sheep = someone who is lost or separated from the main group

She was a lost sheep until she listened to her father and started going to church again.

a wolf in sheep's clothing = a bad person who pretends to be a good person (who acts like a good person)

The thief was a wolf in sheep's clothing. We thought he as really wanted to help us not steal from us.

separate the sheep from the goats = separate the good or innocent people from the bad or guilty people

I'm trying to separate the sheep from the goats in my group, but it is difficult to know which ones have honest hearts and which one's have dishonest hearts.

snake

snake-bitten snake bit = made unable to move or react to something (like someone feels after a snake bites him stunned, numb) (slang)

	I was snake-bitten after I met Julie, she was so beautiful.
	You'll know what snake-bit is when drink that stuff.

a snake in the grass = a sneaky, untrustworthy person one who betrays (or steals from) a friend, partner, etc.

	You can't trust him with your money. He's a snake in the grass.
	What a snake in the grass! I didn't know he was so low.

snake oil = a trick by someone to make you feel something or do something

	I don't like snake oil by politicians. They should be straightforward.
	She was tricked by the businessman's snake oil demonstration.

snake through...(someplace); curve in and out, back and forth, around and through a place (meander), often said of a river, because it's movements resemble a snake.

	The Colorado River snakes through the Grand canyon.
	The water hose snakes through the field.

tiger

a lady-or-tiger situation = a situation where a person must choose between two things without knowing what the choice will result in, good or bad (from the story of a prisoner who is given the choice between two doors to receive his punishment the first door which leads to a hungry tiger, who will eat the prisoner and the second door which leads to a beautiful woman)

	It's a lady-or-tiger situation. I have to make a choice. But I don't know what I'll get with either choice.
	This is a lady-or-tiger situation. You must pick one or the other. And you don't know what will happen if you pick "a" or if you pick "b".

a paper tiger = a country, person, organization, etc. who looks strong and threatening because of a description of it on paper, or from its public statements about itself, but it has no real strength in reality

	That country is a paper tiger. It talks very big, but has no real teeth.
	Jax Computer Company is a paper tiger. It advertises itself as though it were a giant, but actually it is just a small, start-up computer company.

have a tiger by the tail = be involved with something dangerous or powerful, and you can't get away from it or separate from it (as though you are hanging on to a tiger's tail if you let go, he will eat you, if you hold on he will drag you around)

	You have a tiger by the tail. You must continue your partnership with Fred. He owns half of the company, and he will continue to keep most of the money.
	We have a tiger by the tail. Our enemy won't stop attacking us, and we can't run away from them.

wolf

a wolf in sheep's clothing = a bad person who pretends to be a good person (who acts like a good person)

The thief was a wolf in sheep's clothing. We thought he as really wanted to help us not steal from us.

wolf something down and wolf down....(something) = eat food very fast, sometimes because the person is hungry, sometimes because the person has bad table manners

The boy wolfed his food down as fast as he could eat it.
"You shouldn't wolf down your food so fast," the mother told her son.

keep the wolf away from the door = keep someone protected from a landlord or other authority trying to get to person

This money for my apartment will keep the wolf away from the door.

the wolf is at the door = the landlord or other authority comes to one's house to get money or arrest them

The wolf is at the door again. The police are trying to make me talk to them.