Animal Idioms 1.docx

Animal Idioms 1.docx

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AnimalIdioms1

AnimalIdioms1

Ifyouhaveanideathathasbecomeanobsession,youhavea'beeinyourbonnet'.

He'sgotabeeinhisbonnetaboutpoliticallycorrectlanguage.

She'sgotabeeinherbonnetaboutrecycling.

Whensomebodylosesaboyfriendorgirlfriend,wecantellthemthattherearelotsmorepossiblecandidateswithanexpressionaboutfish:

Thereareplentymorefishinthesea.

Thereareotherfishinthesea.

Ifyoudiscloseasecret,you'letthecatoutofthebag'.

ThePresident'svisitwassupposedtobeconfidentialbutsomebodymusthaveletthecatoutofthebag.

Hethoughtsheknewthesecretandsohetoldherandletthecatoutofthebag.

Ifyouareinanenvironmentordoinganactivitywhereyouknownothing,youare'likeafishoutofwater'.

WhentheystartedtalkingaboutnuclearphysicsIfeltlikeafishoutofwater.

Icouldn'tunderstandanythingIreadorheardinTokyoandIwasarealfishoutofwater.

Ifthereisadifficultsituationbutyoutakeactiontoconfrontityouaretaking'thebullbythehorns'.

Idecidedtotakethebullbythehornsandgoinandaskforaraise.

Ifhe'snotdoinghisjob,youaregoingtohavetotakethebullbythehornsandtellhim.

Ifsomebodyisveryrestless,theyhave'antsintheirpants'（oftenshortenedinUSEnglishto'antsy'.）

Hecan'tkeepstill.He'sgotantsinhispants.

Thelongwaitmadethechildrenantsy.

Amemberofafamilyorothergroupwhoisembarrassing,undesirableordisreputableiscalleda'blacksheep'.

IwasalwaysconsideredtheblacksheepofmyfamilybecauseIwasasocialist.

Myunclewenttoprisonandisconsideredtheblacksheepofthefamily.

'Until/tillthecowscomehome'means'foraverylongtime'.

Theycouldargueuntilthecowscomehomeandstillnotreachanagreement.

"Icoulddancewithyoutillthecowscomehome.Betterstill,I'lldancewiththecowsandyoucomehome."（GrouchoMarx）

InBritishEnglish,foraverysmallspacewecansaythat:

Thereisnoroomtoswingacat.

（Acatwasanoldformofwhip–nottheanimal!

）

Ifyoubehavestupidly,carelesslyorinaverycasualmanner,you'monkeyaround'.

Stopmonkeyingaroundandgetonwithsomework!

Whohasbeenmonkeyingaroundwiththismachine?

Ifyouareverysuspiciousaboutsomething,you'smellarat'.

TheysaidtheywillhonorthecontractbutIsmellarat.

HesaidhewasqualifiedbutIsmelledarat,checkeduponhimandfoundoutthathewasn't.

Ifsomething'goestothedogs',itisinabadstateorevenruined.

Sincehetookoveraschairman,thecompanyhasgonetothedogs.

Thispartoftownhasreallygonetothedogsinthelastfewyears.

AnimalIdioms2

LearnnewexpressionsinEnglishwiththeseexercises:

Ifyousearchforsomethingwhichisfutile,pointlessorunattainable,youareona'wild-goosechase'.

Hesentusonawild-goosechaseforabookthatisn'tbeingpublisheduntilnextyear.

Shesentusonawild-goosechaselookingfortheirbeachhouse.

Asmallsumofmoney（perhapsjustcomparativelysmall）canbecalled'chickenfeed'.

ThesalarytheywereofferingwaschickenfeedcomparedtowhatIcouldearnasaconsultant.

YoucanonlymakechickenfeedprofitsteachingEnglishontheInternet.

Ifmoneywillpreventpoverty,itwill'keepthewolffromthedoor'.

Thesalarywon'tallowmetobuyverymuchbutitshouldkeepthewolffromthedoor.

Weneedtogetinsomeimmediateincometokeepthewolffromthedoor.

Sometimeswhenyoulosepatiencewithsomething,itissomethingveryminorwhichcausesthis,eventhoughyoudidn'tlosepatiencewhentherewereothermoreseriousproblemsearlier.Thisisthe'strawthatbrokethecamel'sback'.

Iknowitwasn'tamajorproblembutitwasthestrawthatbrokethecamel'sbackasfarasIwasconcerned.

WhentheytoldmeIhadtoworkonChristmasDay,itwasthestrawthatbrokethecamel'sbackandIleft.

Ifsomewhereisverydirtyoruntidy,wecansayitisa'pigsty'.

Thisroomlookslikeapigsty.

Thefactorywaslikeapigstywithmaterialseverywhere.

Ifyouquarrelallthetimewithsomebody,you'fightlikecatanddog'.

Theyfoughtlikecatanddogoverthedecision.

Theycan'tworktogether.Theyfightlikecatanddog.

Thebestorgreatestthingis'thecat'swhiskers'.

Nowhehasbeenpromoted,hethinkshe'sthecat'swhiskers.

Don'tstartthinkingyouarethecat'swhiskersbecauseyouarenot.

Ifyouareverynervousoruneasy,thereareacoupleofexpressionusing'cat'.

He'slikeacatonahottinroof.

She'slikeacatonhotbricks.

Ifyoulookdirty,messyorbedraggled,you'looklikesomethingthecatbrought/draggedin'.

Tidyyourselfup.Youlooklikesomethingthecatbroughtin.

Heturneduplookinglikesomethingthecatdraggedin.

Ifyouhaveabsolutelynochance,youhavea'catinhell'schance'.

Wehaveacatinhell'schanceofgettingthecontract.

Hehasacatinhell'schanceofgoingoutwithher.

Ifyouarebeingteasedcruellybysomeonewithoutknowingexactlywhattheirintentionsare,theyare'playingcatandmouse'withyou.

Theyareplayingcatandmousewithusaboutrenewingthecontract.

Idon'thaveanytimeforthesecatandmousegames.

Whenyoudosomething,oftensuddenly,thatisgenerallydisturbingorupsetting,you'putthecatamongthepigeons'.

TheannouncementofthetakeoverbyGlazerhasreallyputthecatamongthepigeons.

Weneedtofindawaytoputthecatamongthepigeonsandshakethemupabit.