50 Idioms with Animals That Instantly Brighten Your English
Has anyone ever told you that “it’s raining cats and dogs” and checked to see if they’re telling the truth? Only to just see rain… No cats and no dogs!
You have just encountered an animal-based idiom. If you are already familiar with idioms in general, you should know about their non-literal usage. While other idioms are great to use, idioms with animals are another clever way to express yourself in English.
Native speakers use these phrases in many different contexts, from the office to speeches to even family discussions. Learn them to brighten your English from just textbook to natural speaking and unlock the wild world of animal idioms.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
- What animal idioms are
- 50 idioms with animals sorted into simple themes
- Animal-friendly alternatives to older idioms
- Common idiom mistakes made by learners
Table of Contents
What Are Animal Idioms?
Idioms are phrases that convey a meaning different from their literal words. If the cat is out of the bag, there isn’t really a cat or a bag. It just means the secret is out.
Animal idioms use understandable animal behaviors. A clever fox. A strong ox. A slow sloth. You can imagine how some animals act. These images are much easier to remember than rules.
This is why such expressions work so well:
- They are visual: abstract ideas become an easily understandable image
- They are short: a whole explanation becomes a few words
- They are useful: you can use them in speeches, songs, and much more
50 Idioms with Animals Grouped by Theme
Here are some commonly used animal idioms that would be great for you to know!
Mood and Behavior
How you feel and act can be described as animal-like.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Happy as a clam | Completely content | Since the promotion, she has been happy as a clam. |
| Pig out | Overeating | I always pig out at the buffet. |
| Cool as a cucumber | Calm under pressure | During the meeting, he was cool as a cucumber. |
| Busy as a bee | Working a lot | They have been busy as bees preparing for the event. |
| Eager beaver | Extremely enthusiastic | The intern is an eager beaver. |
Secrets and Deception
When some things are hidden or in plain sight, some animals decide to show up.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Let the cat out of the bag | Revealing a secret | He let the cat out of the bag about the surprise gift. |
| A little bird told me | I heard it from someone | A little bird told me you are practicing for the game. |
| Elephant in the room | Something obvious nobody mentions | We need to discuss the elephant in the room: the awful mess. |
| Watch like a hawk | Observe very closely | The mom watches her kids like a hawk. |
| Smell a rat | Sensing something is wrong | When he hung up the call, I smelled a rat. |
Effort and Speed
Animals can also describe the hard work and the haste of people.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Kill two birds with one stone | Get two things done at once | By walking from school, I killed two birds with one stone. |
| Take the bull by the horns | Face a problem head-on | We took the bull by the horns and complained to the boss. |
| Hold your horses | Slow down | Hold your horses, we don’t even know our budget. |
| Beat a dead horse | Waste energy on a done deal | Trying to fix it now is just beating a dead horse. |
| Bull in a china shop | Clumsy in a delicate situation | He walked in like a bull in a china shop. |
Abundance and Rarity
There are idioms that describe the plentiful and the rare.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Plenty of fish in the sea | Many other options available. | Don’t worry about her – there are plenty of fish in the sea. |
| Dark horse | The hidden talent. | The dark horse of the race finished first. |
| The world is your oyster | Endless opportunity. | The world is your oyster with that attitude. |
| Rare as hen’s teeth | Extremely rare. | That bag is as rare as hen’s teeth. |
| Wild goose chase | A pointless search. | Looking for the lost toy is a wild goose chase. |
Strength and Dominance
Some animals are just meant to be at the top.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Top dog | The most powerful person. | I became top dog after beating the challenge. |
| Lion’s share | The biggest portion. | My coworker took the lion’s share of the credit. |
| Dog-eat-dog world | Merciless competition. | Finance can be a dog-eat-dog world. |
| Have a tiger by the tail | Handling the uncontrollable. | With that risky deal, she has a tiger by the tail. |
| Strong as an ox | Very strong. | David may be small, but he is as strong as an ox. |
Caution and Hesitation
Sometimes patience is key, and it’s best to stay quiet or step back.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Do not count your chickens | Do not assume success too early. | Do not count your chickens. The merger isn’t final yet. |
| Let sleeping dogs lie | Leave old troubles in the past. | Leave it alone and let sleeping dogs lie. |
| Do not have a cow | Do not overreact. | Don’t have a cow, it was only a sip. |
| Monkey see, monkey do | Copying without thinking. | It’s always monkey see, monkey do with this group. |
| Chicken out | Fearfully back out. | He wanted to bungee jump, then chickened out. |
Groups and Relationships
Some animals also live in groups, just like humans do.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Birds of a feather flock together | Similar people stay together. | Artists and writers are birds of a feather. |
| Black sheep | The odd one out of a group. | I am the black sheep of the family. |
| Copycat | An imitator. | That design is a copycat of the previous group. |
| sheepish | Embarrassed, shy. | She gave a sheepish smile after messing up. |
| Lone wolf | Someone who prefers to work alone. | He is a lone wolf and does his group work alone. |
Unexpected Outcomes
Life is full of surprises, and these idioms capture that shock wonderfully.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Raining cats and dogs | Raining heavily. | It was raining cats and dogs all night. |
| Fish out of water | Feeling uncomfortable experiencing something new. | I felt like a fish out of water as a foreigner. |
| Gets my goat | Annoying | Long meetings really get my goat. |
| Cat got your tongue? | Why are you so quiet? | You haven’t responded to me. Cat got your tongue? |
| Monkey’s uncle | A total surprise. | Well, I will be a monkey’s uncle – I won! |
Sleep and Laziness
Some animals are associated with rest, naps, and late nights.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Cat nap | A short nap. | I took a quick cat nap after lunch. |
| Night owl | Someone who stays up late. | She is a night owl working past midnight. |
| Early bird | Someone who wakes up early. | He is an early bird, going to school so early. |
| Sleeping like a log | Sleeps deeply. | After working, he slept like a log. |
| Frog in your throat | A hoarse voice. | I had a frog in my throat during the speech. |
Luck and Fortune
These are idioms about chance, money, and long shots.
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Lucky duck | A very fortunate person. | You got the last one? You lucky duck! |
| When pigs fly | It will never happen. | I will give it back when pigs fly. |
| Underdog | Someone expected to lose. | We all cheer for the underdog. |
| Cash cow | A reliable money source. | My parents are still my cash cow. |
| Straight from the horse’s mouth | From the most reliable source. | I heard it straight from the horse’s mouth. |
While you can use all of these in different life situations, writers also tend to use some of these in their works to describe certain situations or characters. Interested these types of nuanced details in fiction, our English literature guidance course might be a great fit for you.
Animal-friendly Alternatives to Old Idioms
In a world that encourages more empathy towards our nonhuman counterparts, some traditional idioms that describe hurtful things towards animals are being swapped for more animal-friendly alternatives with the exact same meaning.
You don’t have to use these, but they are worth knowing to better expand your knowledge!.
You don’t have to use these, but they are worth knowing to better expand your knowledge!
| Original | Alternative |
| Kill two birds with one stone | Feed two birds with one scone |
| Beat a dead horse | Feed a fed horse |
| Take the bull by the horns | Face the problem head-on |
| More than one way to skin a cat | More than one way to peel a potato |
| Bring home the bacon | Bring home the bagels |
Common Idiom Mistakes Learners Make
Idioms are a very interesting part of English. However, they are very fragile phrases.
Here are some idiom mistakes that English learners tend to make:
- Translating word for word: Idioms from your first language rarely translate into your English conversations. They tend to be language-locked.
- Swapping words: The phrasing structure is fixed. It is “hold your horses,” not “stop your horses.”
- Using too many: Overusing idioms in a conversation is unnatural and makes it look like you’re trying to hit some arbitrary idiom count.
- Ignoring the situation: “Don’t have a cow” is a poor choice for a job interview.
You always learn something new every day! Create a habit and write one new idiom a week that you could use in your life situations.
Conclusion
You have just encountered 50 new idioms with animals that you have just discovered. From the lucky duck to the happy duck. From the lone wolf to the top dog.
You might not be able to remember all 50 today, which is okay. Start using just 5 of them sparingly. When you get the hang of those, come back and choose another five.
If you thought animal idioms were fun, try out colors next. Our guide to color idioms will increase your understanding of more idiom types. Or check out the list of other idiom guides.
Fun Fact
In The Simpsons, a 1995 episode featuring a live broadcast in a spaceship was cut off when an ant (appearing to be giant) suddenly went across the screen. The newsman, Kent Brockman, eventually went on to say, “I, for one, welcome our new insect overlords.”
It has become popularized and used when accepting defeat from a bigger force. With increasing worry over AI, the quote has been rephrased to “I, for one, welcome our robot overlords” to jokingly accept defeat and avoid punishment from the robots.
