I just love animal related idioms.
Mostly because I love animals, but secondly they just say what needs to be said and the point is made in just a small phrase.
Some of my favorites include...
A Bird in the Hand is Worth Two in the Bush.
Which means... Be satisfied with what you have rather than mourning things you don't have.
or
The Cat's Got your Tongue.
Which means... You are too shy to speak up so the only logical reason is the cat took your tongue. Seriously?
As Blind as A Bat. This one is just silly to me!
It is suppose to mean... You don't see very well.
I guess because bats live in dark caves and only come out at night they were thought to be blind. Seriously, could you catch a mosquito in the dusk?
I'm as blind as a human, would be a better idiom.
A Bull in a China Shop.
Which Means... You're so big and clumsy that you destroy everything around you.
I love the visual of a Bull trying to carefully navigate a fully packed china shop.
It makes me giggle every time. Haha!
And Geeze we LOVE our Cats...
Cat Nap .. Duh no one sleeps better than a Cat.
A Scaredy- Cat.. Means you get scared as easily as a Cat. They ARE very jumpy, especially around dogs. When they are scared they sure are funny to watch with their tail all puffed up!!
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof... If your a jumpy nervous type I guess you could resemble a cat racing across a hot surface.
A Fat Cat, means you have a lot of money. (Mine is Fat, but not very rich, I bet Grumpy Cat is a "Fat Cat")
Let the Cat out of the Bag.... I think of Mom when I hear this one, she must have said this more than once, probably because I could never keep her secrets as a kid.
It's Raining Cats and Dogs... Well who hasn't said this one on a down pour. I say this all the time now that I live in Oregon.
Not enough Room to Swing a Cat (Someone must have actually done this for it to be a thing... Terrible!)
Look What the Cat Drug In (Another one that makes me laugh, cats can bring in the darnedest things.)
But Dogs are just as popular...
Dog Tired means you are more tired than normal, I guess Dogs get more tired than people because of their exhausting lives.
It's Gone to the Dogs... Means you've hit hard times or let your self go, which is really unfair to Dogs they don't have terrible lives. In fact most that I know are down right spoiled.
Let Sleeping Dogs Lie ... Serious this is just good advice. You could get bit if you wake up a sleeping Dog or a Sleeping Dad.
Like a Dog with two tails... HAHA ... If you're uber happy and excited you are like a dog with two tails. Let face it most dogs are that happy.
There are so many more and my husband has a few that are just inappropriate to mention. Use your imagination and think of a Horse and a Goat. Nuf said.
But my all time favorite saying is "There is a dead elephant in the room!"
It's actually just "An Elephant in the Room" but, at some point I added the "Dead" I'm not sure if I read it somewhere like that or I just added it during a rough patch in my life and the dead elephant just seemed so much more relevant.
You know Stinky, Festering, Large and in the Way.
I find myself using this one a lot. Probably because when you come from a dysfunctional family there is always a dead something in the room.
I am hyper aware of situations when people are just ignoring the obvious and pretending it's not there.
So even the little infractions of this become a "Dead Elephant" for me.
I should probably re-name the little ones something else, like "Dead Pigeon in the Room" (No offense to the lovely pigeon.) But, you know, still stinky and festering, just not as in the way.
Perhaps for the little things we pretend are not there, like the person in the family who never changes the toilet paper roll when it's out.
Or someone who leaves stinky shoes in the middle of the room.
Then I can just reserve the "Dead Elephant" for the big stuff, like alcoholism, drug abuse, gambling or stealing issues.
So go fourth and Dog Ear your favorite animal idiom, and let the troubles run off you like Water Off A Ducks Back, don't be a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing and be sure to Grab the Tiger by the Tail.
But Most of all ...
Remember this ...
The Early Bird Catches the Worm.
