اصطلاحات انگلیسی-حیوانات

[negar92]

alley cat


- a stray cat


I began to feed the alley cat and now it comes to my house every day.
as awkward as a cow on roller skates

- very awkward

The little girl was as awkward as a cow on roller skates when she first began riding her bicycle.
as blind as a bat

- blind

The man is as blind as a bat and cannot see more than a small distance ahead.
as busy as a beaver

- very busy

I have been as busy as a beaver all morning.
as clean as a hound's tooth

- very clean

The classroom was as clean as a hound's tooth when the students finished cleaning it.
as conceited as a barber's cat

- very conceited, vain

My friend became as conceited as a barber's cat after she won the award at school.
as crooked as a dog's hind leg

- dishonest

The politician is as crooked as a dog's hind leg and nobody trusts him.
as drunk as a skunk

- very drunk

The man was as drunk as a skunk when he walked into the restaurant.
as fat as a pig

- very fat

The woman in the supermarket was as fat as a pig.
as gentle as a lamb

- very gentle

The girl is as gentle as a lamb when she is with her little sister.
as gruff as a bear

- gruff, unsociable

Our neighbor is as gruff as a bear when we meet him in the morning.
as hungry as a bear

- very hungry

I was as hungry as a bear when I arrived home from work.
as innocent as a lamb

- having no guilt, naive

The little girl is as innocent as a lamb and everybody loves her.
as meek as a lamb

- quiet, docile, meek

The secretary was as meek as a lamb when she went to ask her boss for a salary increase.
as nervous as a cat

- very nervous

The man was as nervous as a cat when he talked to the woman.
as poor as a church mouse

- very poor

My cousin is as poor as a church mouse and never has any money to spend.
as quiet as a mouse

- very quiet, shy

I was as quiet as a mouse when I left my house early this morning.
as scared as a rabbit

- very scared

I was as scared as a rabbit when I entered the empty room.
as sick as a dog

- very sick

My friend was as sick as a dog when he left the restaurant last night.
as sly as a fox

- smart and clever

The manager of our apartment is as sly as a fox.
as strong as a horse/ox

- very strong

The man was as strong as an ox and easily helped us move the sofa.
as stubborn as a mule

- very stubborn

My friend is as stubborn as a mule and you can never make her change her mind.
as weak as a kitten

- weak, sickly

The girl is as weak as a kitten and cannot carry the books.
as wild as a tiger

- very wild

The little boy was as wild as a tiger when we were trying to look after him.
back the wrong horse

- to support someone or something that cannot or does not win or succeed

We backed the wrong horse when we supported the candidate for mayor.
badger (someone)

- to get someone to do something by repeated questions or by bothering them

I always have to badger my friend in order to make him return my computer games.
one's bark is worse than one's bite

- one's words are worse than one's actions

You should not worry about the secretary. Her bark is worse than her bite and she is really a very nice person.
bark up the wrong tree

- to choose the wrong course of action, to ask the wrong person (a hunting dog may make a mistake when chasing an animal and bark up the wrong tree)

My boss is barking up the wrong tree. I did not cause the computer problem.
beat a dead horse

- to continue fighting a battle that has been won, to continue to argue a point that has been settled

I was beating a dead horse when I was arguing with my boss.
the best-laid plans of mice and men

- the best thought-out plans that anyone can make

The best-laid plans of mice and men could not prevent our travel problems.
bet on the wrong horse

- to misread the future, to not choose the winning person or solution

The man is betting on the wrong horse if he supports the other city in their bid for the Olympic games.
better to be a live dog than a dead lion

- it is better to be a live coward than a dead hero (this is from Ecclesiastes in the Bible)

It is better to be a live dog than a dead lion so I walked away and did not try and fight with the man.
better to be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion

- it is better to be the leader of a small group than a follower of a bigger one

The young athlete always played for his hometown team rather than moving to a larger city with a bigger team. He thought that it was better to be the head of a dog than the tail of a lion.
the black sheep of the family

- the worst or the most unpopular or disliked member of a family

My cousin is the black sheep of the family and nobody likes to talk about him.
bright-eyed and bushy-tailed

- to be very cheerful and eager (like a squirrel with bright eyes and a bushy tail)

The children were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when they woke up in the morning.
a bull in a china shop

- a tactless person who upsets others or upsets plans, a very clumsy person

The boy is like a bull in a china shop so you should be careful if you invite him to your house.
buy a pig in a poke

- to buy something without seeing it or knowing anything about it

You can buy the used computer but it will be like buying a pig in a poke if you do not look at it first.
by shank's mare

- by foot

I came to the meeting by shank's mare.
call the dogs off or call off the dogs

- to stop threatening or chasing or hounding someone

The police decided to call the dogs off and stop hunting for the man.
a cash cow

- a product or service that makes much money

Our new business is a cash cow. We are making much money now.
cast pearls before swine

- to waste something on someone who will not be thankful or care about it

Giving the jewellery to the woman will be casting pearls before swine. She will not appreciate it at all.
cat burglar

- a burglar who enters a building by climbing a wall etc.

A cat burglar entered our apartment and stole our television.
cat gets one`s tongue

- one cannot speak because of shyness

The cat got the woman's tongue and she could not say anything at all.
a cat has nine lives

- cats can survive accidents that would kill most animals

The boy never becomes injured. He is like a cat with nine lives.
a cat in gloves catches no mice

- if you are too careful and polite you may not get what you want

A cat in gloves catches no mice and I advised my friend that he should be more aggressive at work or he will not be successful.
a cat nap

- a short sleep taken during the day

I had a cat nap in the afternoon so that I would feel refreshed in the evening.
a cat on a hot tin roof

- full of lively activity

The boy was jumping around like a cat on a hot tin roof and we could not make him be quiet.
champ/chomp at the bit

- to be ready and anxious to do something (a bit is put into a horse's mouth for control of the horse)

Everyone was chomping at the bit to get started on their holiday.
change horses in midstream

- to make new plans or choose a new leader in an activity that has already begun

They have decided to change lawyers but I told them that they should not change horses in midstream.
a cock-and-bull story

- a silly story that is not true

Our neighbor gave us a cock-and-bull story about how our window was broken.
a copycat

- someone who copies another person`s work etc.

The boy is a copycat and often copies the other students' work.
cry wolf

- to give a false alarm, to warn of a danger that is not there

The man is crying wolf. There is no danger from the electrical system.
curiosity killed the cat

- being too nosy or curious may get a person into trouble

"You should not worry about what your friend is doing. Remember, curiosity killed the cat."
a dark horse

- a candidate who is little known to the general public

The candidate for mayor was a dark horse until he gave some good speeches on TV.
dog and pony show

- something that you disapprove of because you think that it has only been organized to impress you (like a dog and pony show in a circus)

We had serious questions about the project but we only got a dog and pony show when we questioned our business partners.
dog-eat-dog

- ready or willing to fight and hurt others to get what one wants

It is a dog-eat-dog world in our company.
dog in the manger

- someone who prevents others from doing what they themselves do not want to do (in Aesop's Fables a dog that cannot eat hay lays in the hayrack and prevents the other animals from eating the hay)

My friend always acts like a dog in the manger and often tries to prevent us from enjoying ourselves.
donkey's years

- a very long time

I was happy to see my friend because I had not seen her in donkey's years.
a dumb bunny

- a stupid or gullible person

"He really is a dumb bunny. He does such stupid things."
eager beaver

- a person who is always eager to work or do something extra

The woman is an eager beaver and will do very well in this company.
eat high on/off the hog

- to eat good or expensive food

We were eating high off the hog during our ocean cruise.
eat like a horse

- to eat a lot

My brother eats like a horse.
every dog has his day

- everyone will have his chance or turn, everyone will get what he deserves

"Don`t worry about him. Every dog has his day and he will eventually suffer for all the bad things that he is doing."
ferret (information or something) out of (someone)

- to get something from someone by being persistent

I worked hard to ferret the location of the party out of my friend.
fight like cats and dogs

- to argue and fight with someone (usually used for people who know each other)

The two children were fighting like cats and dogs when we entered the room.
flog a dead horse

- to continue fighting a battle that has been won, to continue to argue a point that has been settled

My friend was flogging a dead horse when she would not stop arguing about the mistake on her paycheck.
a fraidy-cat

- someone who is easily frightened (usually used by children)

The little boy called his friend a fraidy-cat because his friend would not climb the tree.
get (someone`s) goat

- to annoy someone

My friend is always complaining about the way that I do things which gets my goat.
get off one`s high horse

- to begin to be humble and agreeable

I wish that my supervisor would get off her high horse and begin to think about how other people feel about things.
get on one`s high horse

- to behave with arrogance

My friend is always getting on her high horse and telling people what to do.
go ape (over someone or something)

- to become highly excited or angry about someone or something

Our teacher will go ape if you do not finish the work that was due today.
go hog-wild

- to behave wildly

The soccer fans went hog-wild when they arrived in the city for the game.
go to the dogs

- to deteriorate, to become bad

Many things in our city have gone to the dogs during the last ten years.
go whole hog

- to do everything possible, to be extravagant

We went whole hog in our effort to make the convention a success.
grin like a Cheshire cat

- to grin or smile broadly

The little boy was grinning like a Cheshire cat when he entered the room.
the hair of the dog that bit one

- a drink of alcohol that one takes when recovering from a hangover

The man had the hair of the dog that bit him before he ate breakfast.
have a cow

- to become very angry and upset about something

Our teacher had a cow when nobody prepared for the class.
have a tiger by the tail

- to have a task or situation that you are not prepared for or which is a bigger challenge that you expected

The politician had a tiger by the tail as he tried to manage the large problem.
have a whale of a time

- to have an exciting and interesting time

We had a whale of a time at the party last night.
have bats in one's belfry

- to be a little bit crazy

I think that our neighbor has bats in her belfry.
hit the bulls-eye

- to reach or focus on the main point of something

Our manager hit the bulls-eye when he talked about the problems in the company.
hold one`s horses

- to wait, to be patient

"Hold your horses for a moment while I make a phone call."
Holy cow

- used to express strong feelings of astonishment or pleasure or anger

"Holy cow," the man said when he saw the car that hit the street lamp.
hoof it

- to walk or run (a hoof is the foot of a horse or sheep or cow etc.)

I decided to hoof it when I came downtown this morning.
horse around

- to play around (in a rough way)

The teacher told the children not to horse around while they were getting ready for class.
a horse of a different color

- another matter entirely, something else, something different than the subject that is being discussed

Changing locations is a horse of a different color and was never discussed in the meeting.
horse sense

- common sense, practical thinking

The boy does not have any horse sense and often makes the wrong decision.