Animal Idioms – Can you work them out? vol.1

Hi everyone, its Rodd again,

This time I will write a few animal idioms for you to contemplate. Remember, an idiom is a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words(in other words an idiom says one thing, but most often means something different).  They are hard to work out if you do not know them – even for native speakers!  Let’d go…

THE LION’S SHARE

-The lion’s share” of something is the biggest part or portion.

HOLD YOUR HORSES!

This means “Wait a minute! Don’t be in such a hurry.”

THAT REALLY GETS MY GOAT.

If something “gets your goat,” it means it annoys you.

THE CAT’S MEOW

If you think something is “the cat’s meow,” it means you think it is excellent, wonderful, really great.

WILD GOOSE CHASE

This idiom means going after something that you are not likely to get, or a pursuit that is a waste of time because it is unlikely to succeed. It comes from the fact that it is very hard to catch a wild goose, so if you try to chase one, you are not likely to get it!

QUIT COLD TURKEY

If you quit something (a habit like coffee, smoking, drinking, etc.) “cold turkey,” it means you stop completely. Quitting smoking cold turkey would be deciding one day never to have another cigarette again. (Differently from slowly decreasing your smoking habit over time and eventually stopping).

There are two possible origins for this idiom – one is that when someone is addicted to drugs, and suddenly stops using the drugs, their skin becomes cold and gets bumps like a plucked turkey (a turkey without its feathers). The other possible origin is the fact that cold turkey is a dish that is quick and easy to prepare.

FISH OR CUT BAIT

In the sport of fishing, “bait” is the food you put on the hook to attract the fish. If you “cut bait,” it means you abandon the bait and stop trying to catch fish. This idiom means “either do something, or else get out of the way” – you can say it to a person who is indecisive in order to motivate them to take one action or the other action.

LET THE CAT OUT OF THE BAG

This means to reveal a secret.

GO TO THE DOGS

If something “goes to the dogs,” it means it goes bad, or becomes poor-quality.

I hope you enjoyed them and get some use out of them in the future!

続編はこちら Animal Idioms – Can you work them out? vol.2

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Rodd

長く日英翻訳に携わっており、どうすれば英語として自然かをうまく説明できる人気の講師！間違うことを恐れず、まずは書くことが大切であるというのをポリシーにしています。
座右の銘は「Never be afraid to always try new things and places, and enjoy life to its fullest.」