IELTS PREPARATION - 50 English idioms related to animals and their meanings

Idiom	Meaning
A bull in a china shop	Someone who is clumsy or careless
A cat has nine lives	Cats are resilient and can survive dangerous situations
A dog's life	A difficult and unhappy life
A fish out of water	Someone who is uncomfortable in a particular situation
A fly in the ointment	A small but annoying problem
A leopard can't change its spots	People cannot change their basic nature
A little bird told me	I heard a secret from someone
A monkey on one's back	An addiction or a persistent problem
A snake in the grass	A deceitful or treacherous person
All bark and no bite	Someone who talks tough but doesn't follow through
As busy as a bee	Very busy or productive
Beat a dead horse	To waste time on a hopeless or pointless task
Chicken out	To back out of something because of fear or cowardice
Don't count your chickens before they hatch	Don't assume that something will happen before it actually does
Don't have a cow	Don't overreact or get upset
Elephant in the room	An obvious but unspoken issue
Feather in one's cap	A source of pride or achievement
Fight like cats and dogs	To argue or fight fiercely
Fish or cut bait	To make a decision or take action
Get the lion's share	To receive the largest portion
Go hog wild	To become very excited or enthusiastic
Horse around	To play or fool around
In the doghouse	In trouble or out of favor
Kill two birds with one stone	To accomplish two things at once
Let the cat out of the bag	To reveal a secret
Like a fish in water	Very comfortable and natural in a particular environment
Like a moth to a flame	Irresistibly attracted to something dangerous or harmful
Like a bat out of hell	Very fast or recklessly
Lion's den	A place or situation that is dangerous or hostile
Make a beeline for	To head straight for something
Monkey business	Mischievous or dishonest behavior
Once in a blue moon	Very rarely
Pig-headed	Stubborn and inflexible
Put the cart before the horse	To do things in the wrong order
Rat race	A competitive and stressful way of life
The lion's share	The largest portion
The straw that broke the camel's back	The final, small thing that causes a person to give up or quit
The world is your oyster	You can do anything you want
To chicken out	To back out of something because of fear or cowardice
To cry wolf	To raise a false alarm
To have a whale of a time	To have a great time
To have ants in one's pants	To be restless or anxious
To horse around	To play or fool around
To let sleeping dogs lie	To avoid stirring up old or controversial issues
To make a mountain out of a molehill	To exaggerate a problem or issue
To smell a rat	To sense that something is wrong or suspicious
To talk turkey	To discuss something honestly and directly
Wild goose chase	A pointless or fruitless pursuit

 

 

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