Let's list all idioms & slangs we know that contain animals

[technobabel]

There are many famous sayings that contain animals in them:

Don't count your chickens before they hatch: You should not be too confident that something will be successful, because something may still go wrong.

A man may lead a horse to water, but cannot make him drink: You can give someone the opportunity to do something, but you cannot force them to do it if they do not want to.

Don't accuse me of splitting hairs, but I think I should point out that...
There is a difference between proverb and idiomatic expression.
By definition, idiomatic expression is when its literal meaning no longer applies. Similar to figure of speech.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Figures_of_speech

[Sherry Liao]

Oops, you got me there...

Then how about these:

Hold your horses: used to tell somebody that they should wait a moment and not be so excited that they take action without thinking about it first

Have you gone cuckoo?: the same meaning as "Have you gone mad?" or "Have you gone crazy?"

[technobabel]

FAT CAT has become the hottest phrase recently.

fat cat: someone who has too much money, especially someone who is paid too much for their job - used in order to show disapproval [Longman]

Brown targets fat cat pay after nationalizing banks in $37 billion bailout http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/b ... 933657.ece

Speaking of cats...
Let us look into an idiomatic rendering of yet another potent feline character.
Caution: This one comes with retractable claws.

Cougar - An attractive woman in her 30's or 40's (and beyond) who is on the hunt once again. She may be found in the usual hunting grounds: nightclubs, bars, beaches, and not to mention Yoyo English Club etc. She will not play the usual B.S. games that women in their early twenties participate in.

[Gloria Lo]

pigs can fly or pigs might fly

as poor as church mouse

[Gloria Lo]

Cougar - An attractive woman in her 30's or 40's (and beyond) who is on the hunt once again. She may be found in the usual hunting grounds: nightclubs, bars, beaches, and not to mention Yoyo English Club etc. She will not play the usual B.S. games that women in their early twenties participate in.




What is "B.S. games"????

[technobabel]

Cougar - An attractive woman in her 30's or 40's (and beyond) who is on the hunt once again. She may be found in the usual hunting grounds: nightclubs, bars, beaches, and not to mention Yoyo English Club etc. She will not play the usual B.S. games that women in their early twenties participate in.




What is "B.S. games"????

In case it hadn't been immediately apparent, the so-called B.S. games does come with names that may be more recognizable, but it is the same game nonetheless. I wouldn't have bought it up unless there are songs about it.

Exhibit A:
The Mind Games


Exhibit B:
The Wicked Game


Exhibit C:
The Foolish Games

[Sherry Liao]

Cougar - An attractive woman in her 30's or 40's (and beyond) who is on the hunt once again. She may be found in the usual hunting grounds: nightclubs, bars, beaches, and not to mention Yoyo English Club etc. She will not play the usual B.S. games that women in their early twenties participate in.

Some animals are often used to describe specific personalities (or streaks ) of humans. Like these:

ostrich: a person who prefers to ignore problems rather than try and deal with them.
monkey: a child who is active and likes playing tricks on people.

(I hate the rule that we can only list two items in each post. Hey, boss, it's not fun! )

[Kooper]

Is oyster an animal? Never mind. One of the article referenced in previous meeting use an expression with oyster.

the world is your oyster: used to tell someone that they can achieve whatever they want [Longman]


Hi Sherry,

Now you can post another two items.

[Sherry Liao]

Ha... thank you, boss.

Actually I'd like to continue the topic of animal characters, and increase species diversity of my zoological garden:

rooster: a cocky or vain man
wolf: a) a fierce, rapacious, or destructive person; b) a man forward, direct, and zealous in amatory attentions to women.

[technobabel]

Is oyster an animal? Never mind. One of the article referenced in previous meeting use an expression with oyster.

the world is your oyster: used to tell someone that they can achieve whatever they want [Longman]

Speaking of oyster, one time on the radio, I heard that oyster is a bivalve, and the definitions is as follows.

mollusk with hinged shell: a saltwater or freshwater invertebrate animal that has its body contained within two shells joined by a hinge. Oysters, mussels, and clams are bivalves.

As expected, here comes a song that mentions oyster. Incidentally, it is not a bad song for early January.

[Sherry Liao]

Now the zoological garden has got marine and insectile members:

shark: a) a rapacious crafty person who takes advantage of others often through usury, extortion, or devious means; b) one who excels greatly especially in a particular field.

parasite: a person who always relies on or benefits from other people and gives nothing back.

[Wayne]

Now the zoological garden has got marine and insectile members:

shark: a) a rapacious crafty person who takes advantage of others often through usury, extortion, or devious means; b) one who excels greatly especially in a particular field.

Eg. a) card shark: 紙牌戲老千 loan shark:放高利貸者 land shark: 專門敲詐上岸水手者 b) shark at bridge橋牌老手

[Sherry Liao]

Thanks, Wayne.
Does that mean that I can continue the posting?

leech: a person who depends on somebody else for money, or takes the profit from somebody else's work
rat: an unpleasant person, especially one who is not loyal or tricks somebody


The word "rat" can also be used as a verb. Here is a quotation from an article I read a few months ago:

"......Later in the day, one of my kids ratted me out, telling my wife what they’d learned about the baby in the paper. She looked at me as if I’d lost my mind: Why on earth would I tell the truth about something that’s so plainly scary to a kid?"
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2 ... bad-stuff/


It reminds me of a Wednesday meeting when we talked about several expressions in place of "betrayal".