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Animal Idioms and Expressions C
C
CAMEL
strain at gnats and swallow camels
To criticize other people for minor offences while ignoring major offenses.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries) plain as the hump on a camel
obvious
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) straw that broke the camel's back
The thing to push you over the edge.
CANARY
have a canary
Brit. informal. to react with disapproval, anxiety. etc
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary look like the cat who swallowed the canary
To look proud of ones self.
Source: Dianna Ly CAT
cat's meow
The top of the line
Source: Cliche Finder play cat and mouse
to play with a person or animal in a cruel or teasing way. esp before a final act
of cruelty or unkindness
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary fraidy cat or scaredy cat
a person who is afraid, a coward
Source: Wayne Magnuson grin like a Cheshire cat
to have a big smile because of something you're really happy you did Source: funbrain.com a bag of cats
Irish informal. a bad-tempered person: she's a real bag of cats this morning.
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary not a cat in hell's chance
no chance at all
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary like herding cats
Futile.
Source: Arius Kaufmann fight like Kilkenny cats
to fight until both parties are destroyed
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary conceited as a barbers cat
very conceited
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) she's a cool cat
She is unflappable.
Source: Paulina Tegelund high as the hair on a cat's back
very expensive
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) as much chance as a wax cat in hell
no chance at all
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) weak as a cat
very weak
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) dead cat on the line
for something to be wrong
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) sitting in a cat bird seat
A person is "sitting pretty" or in a "favored position." This saying was popularized, at least, in these here parts [Texas], by a short story entitled "Catbird Seat," which was written by the well-known American writer of humorous fiction--James Thurber. Thurber, of "Walter Mitty " fame, gives credit to Red Barber--the down--home Southern baseball sports announcer for this rural idiom to the mainstream American public. According to Thurber, the phrase means: being in an advantageous position.
Source: Wheepie@aol.com cat calls
"I'm from a neighborhood with a tremendous amount of wild or at least
free-roaming cats. Often, in the middle of an early spring or summer night
i would be awakened by the calls of cat's in mating. Each time, one of the
sounds I heard was similar to the "wit-woo" sound associated with the
cat-call whistle. Perhaps people adopted that sound, changed it to a
whistle, and associated it with seeing an attractive woman, thus calling
the sound these men made, cat calls."
Source: Michelle Tracey fat cat
A person high up in the business world with a lot of money.
Source: Cliche Finder A cat can look at a king
No one is so important that an ordinary person cannot look at him or her. Everyone can be curious about important people.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries) do it in a cat's paw
Do something in a way that no one knows it is you doing it.
to let the cat out of the bag
Telling something which has been a secret.
Source: Funk, Charles copycat
Some one who mimics some one else.
Source: Cassie catnap
A mid-day nap.
alley cat
Any homeless or stray cat. By extension -- a prostitute.
Source: Funk, Charles look what the cat dragged in
A humorously derogatory comment on someone's arrival.
Source: Turner, Martin looks like something the cat brought in
to appear disheveled or bedraggled.
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary cat's pajamas
All that and a bag of chips.
Source: Cliche Finder curiosity killed the cat
Warning about being curious.
Source: Cliche Finder a cat has nine lives
Cats can survive things that are severe enough to kill them.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries) a cat in gloves catches no mice
Sometimes you cannot get what you want by being careful and polite.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries) all cats are gray in the dark
In the dark, appearances are meaningless.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries) nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs
Nervous
Source: Cliche Finder like a cat on a hot tin roof
Agitated.
Source: Turner, Martin like a cat on hot bricks
in an uneasy or agitated state.
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary cat got your tongue
Unable to speak.
put, set, etc., {the cat among the pigeons}
to introduce some violently disturbing new element
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary keep no more cats then will catch mice
Do not support anyone who does not or cannot do something useful for you in return.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries) let the cat out of the bag
To tell a secret -- normally accidentally.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries) not enough room to swing a cat
Very little room.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries) raining cats and dogs
It is raining very hard.
more then one way to skin a cat
There is more then one way to do something.
when the cat's away, the mice will play
Without supervision, people misbehave.
look like the cat who swallowed the canary
To look proud of ones self.
Source: Dianna Ly doesn't have enough sense to bell a cat
acts foolishly
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) dog my cats
my goodness; what do you know
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) like cat and dog
quarrelling savagely
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary CATTLE (AND CALF)
all hat and no cattle
all form and no substance
Source: Cantu, Larry: reference made to John Connally by Lyndon Johnson calf slobber
meringue
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) don't rush cattle
do not hurry
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) to kill the fatted calf
to rejoice (I don't think the calf is rejoicing though)
Source: funbrain.com CHICKEN
don't count your chickens before they are hatched
Don't assume you have something until you really have it.
chicken in every pot
enough food for every family
Source: Wayne Magnuson chicken
Informal. any of various, often dangerous, games or challenges in which the object is to make one's opponent lose his nerve.
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary chicken out
back out from fear or lose one's nerve Source: funbrain.com have a chicken to pick with someone
to have something to argue about with someone
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) like a chicken with its head cut off
in a wild, crazy manner Source: funbrain.com chicken
a cowardly person
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary chicken
Slang. a young inexperienced person
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary the chickens come home to roost
You have to face the consequences of your mistakes or bad deeds.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries) no spring chicken
old
If it ain't chicken, it's feathers.
There is always a problem.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) scarce as chicken's teeth
There is always a problem.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Janee Cake chicken feed
Very little (or low in value.)
CHUCHMOUSE
poor as a church mouse
Very Poor. This saying likely arose from some folk tale relating the sad experience of a mouse trying to find food for itself and its starving little ones in a church. No pantry, no meal bag, no grain bin made the struggle for existence most difficult.
Source: Funk, Charles CLAM
as happy as a clam
"Happy as a Clam" is not the original quote. It has been shortened. Why is a Clam particularly happy? The original quote was "Happy as a Clam in High Tide". Which of course is when the clam is the safest.
Source: Nick Porreco clam up
Informal. to keep or become silent or withhold information
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary COCK
cock-and-bull story
untrue story
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) COLT
brush colt
an illegitimate child
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) COW
why buy a cow when you can get the milk for free
Why pay for something that you can get for free otherwise.
Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries) steep as a cow's face
extremely steep
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) holy cow
that is exciting, geez, gosh, wow
Source: Wayne Magnuson big enough to choke a cow
very big
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) cow juice
milk
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) dark as the inside of a cow's belly
very dark
Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye) cash cow
Someone or something that has a ton of cash and supports someone else with it--a business' big clients would be called cash cows.
Source: Phil McNeill tune the old cow died of
Any tune which has been played ad nauseam.
Source: Funk, Charles a sacred cow
Personal possession cherished by its owner or a person or thing immune to criticism or questioning
Source: Funk, Charles and funbrain.com don't have a cow, man
Don't get hysterically mad.
Source: The Simpsons – the cartoon How now, Brown Cow?
what next, or what's going on
Source: Kitanga till the cows come home
late hours or for a long time
Source: Funk, Charles and funbrain.com CRAW
to stick in your craw
describes a problem that is annoying and/or won't go away
refers to a bird's craw (gullet), in which food is ground by sand eaten for this purpose Source: indiana.edu CROCODILE
crocodile tears
Fake tears. This expression comes from a story that a crocodile moans and sobs like a person in great distress in order to lure a man into its reach, and then after devouring him sheds bitter tears over the dire fate of its victim.
Source: Funk, Charles CROW
as the crow flies
From point A to point B directly.
eating crow
Taking back your words.
stone the crows
Brit. and Austral. slang. an expression of surprise, dismay, etc
Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary |
Great Gift Ideas
Check out our best sellers... Save Lives Sticker,
Be Humane Jr. Raglan,
Don't Breed or Buy Sticker,
Homeless Pet License Frame,
I'm Fixed Dog Shirt,
Shelter Cat Long Sleeve Shirt,
Pet Hard Tile,
Good Monkey Infant Shirt,
Dogs Leave Paw Prints Magnet,
Turtle Tote Bag
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