List of Animal Idioms in English

Choose the idiom and click on it to
go directly to the explanation and example.


A
act like an ape
B
bark up the wrong tree,
her bark is worse than her bite,
bet on the wrong horse,
bull in a china shop

C
cash cow,
cat get one’s tongue,
cat nap, change horses in midstream,
copycat,
cry wolf, curiosity killed the cat
D
dark horse, dog-eat-dog,
donkey's years, dumb bunny
E
eager beaver, eat like a horse,
every dog has his day

F
fraidy-cat
G
get on one’s high horse,
get off one’s high horse,
go ape, go whole hog
H
hit the bulls-eye,
hold one’s horses,
holy cow, horse around,
horse of a
different colour, horse trade

I
in the doghouse

K
kangaroo court

L
lead a dog’s life,
let sleeping dogs lie,
let the cat out of the bag,
live high
on the hog, lock the barn door after the horse is gone,
look like the cat that
swallowed the canary
M
make a mountain out of a molehill,
monkey business

P
piggyback,
piggy bank,
play cat and mouse with someone,
put the cart before the
horse
R
rain cats and dogs,
rat out on, rat race,
road hog
S
sacred cow, scaredy-cat,
smell a rat,
straight from the horse’s mouth,
straw
that breaks the camel’s back
T
tail between one’s legs,
take the bull by the horns,
talk until the cows come
home, throw someone to the wolves,
turn tail

W
wildcat strike,
wolf in sheep’s clothing




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.