Many idioms in the English language relate to animals. Here are some of the more popular ones:
- 800 pound gorilla
- A little bird told me
- Albatross around your neck
- All bark and no bite
- As the crow flies
- At a snail’s pace
- Back the wrong horse
- Beard the lion in his own den
- Beating a dead horse
- Bee in your bonnet
- Big fish in a small pond
- Bigger fish to fry
- Bird in the hand is worth two in the bush
- Bird’s eye view
- Birds and the bees
- Birds of a feather flock together
- Blind as a bat
- Bull-headed
- Busy as a beaver
- Butterflies in your stomach
- Call the dogs off
- Can of worms
- Cat got your tongue?
- Cat’s pajamas
- Change horses in midstream
- Chickenfeed
- Close the stable door after the horse has bolted
- Cock and bull story
- Cold turkey
- Constitution of an ox
- Cook someone’s goose
- Cool as a cat
- Could eat a horse
- Count sheep
- Crocodile tears
- Cry wolf
- Curiosity killed the cat
- Cute as a bug
- Dead duck
- Deer in the headlights
- Dog and pony show
- Dog eat dog
- Dog tired
- Dog-eared
- Doggy bag
- Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched
- Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
- Drink like a fish
- Drop like flies
- Duck to water
- Ducks in a row
- Eager beaver
- Early bird catches the worm
- Eat crow
- Eat like a bird
- Eat like a pig
- Elephant in the room
- Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while
- Fish or cut bait
- Fish out of water
- Flogging a dead horse
- Fly in the ointment
- Fly on the wall
- Fly the coop
- For donkey’s years
- For the birds
- From the horse’s mouth
- Get the monkey off your back
- Get your goat
- Gone fishing
- Gone to the dogs
- Grab the bulls by its horns
- Grease monkey
- Grin like a Cheshire cat
- Hair of the dog
- Hangdog expression
- Hay is for horses
- Healthy as a horse
- Hold your horses
- Hornets’ nest
- Horse of a different color
- Hungry as a bear
- In the doghouse
- Kangaroo court
- Keep the wolf from the door
- Kettle of fish
- Kill the goose that lays the golden egg
- Kill two birds with one stone
- Lame duck
- Leopard can’t change its spots
- Let sleeping dogs lie
- Like a bat out of hell
- Like a beached whale
- Like a bear with a sore head
- Like a duck to water
- Like a fish needs a bicycle
- Like a fish out of water
- Like a headless chicken
- Like a moth to a flame
- Like lambs to the slaughter
- Lion’s share
- Loan shark
- Lone wolf
- Look what the cat dragged in
- Lower than a snake’s belly
- Mad as a hornet
- Memory like an elephant
- Monkey business
- Monkey see, monkey do
- More than one way to skin a cat
- Neither fish nor fowl
- Night owl
- No spring chicken
- Not enough room to swing a cat
- Not hurt a fly
- On your high horse
- One-trick pony
- Opening a can of worms
- Other fish to fry
- Pig in a poke
- Play possum
- Proud as a peacock
- Pull a rabbit out of your hat
- Puppy love
- Put lipstick on a pig
- Putting the cart before the horse
- Queen bee
- Quiet as a mouse
- Raining cats and dogs
- Rat race
- Red herring
- Sacred cow
- Shooting fish in a barrel
- Sick as a dog
- Sing like a canary
- Sitting duck
- Sleep well – don’t let the bedbugs bite
- Sly as a fox
- Smell a rat
- Snake in the grass
- Snug as a bug in a rug
- Straw that broke the camel’s back
- Strong as an ox
- Stubborn as a mule
- Sweat like a pig
- Swim with the fishes
- Take the bull by its horns
- The cat’s meow
- Their bark is worse than their bite
- There are many ways to skin a cat
- Throw a monkey wrench into the works
- Throw someone to the wolves
- Till the cows come home
- Top dog
- Ugly duckling
- Water off a duck’s back
- Whale of a time
- What’s good for the goose is good for the gander
- When pigs fly
- When the chickens come home to roost
- Which came first the chicken or the egg?
- While the cat’s away, the mouse will play
- White elephant
- Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free
- Wild goose chase
- Wolf in sheep’s clothing
- Work like a dog
- World is your oyster
- Worm information
- You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
- You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink
- You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear
- You could have knocked me down with a feather
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