Animal Idioms List with Meanings, Examples, & PDFs

Download the Animal Idioms List & PDF Worksheets

Animal Idioms PDF

View the updated web-version of the animal idioms list in the table below.

The idiom worksheets and games are also free to download.

Download and print the PDFs.
Use the materials for interactive learning activities in class.
Students can also complete the worksheets to review or for self-study.

Animal Idiom Worksheets for ESL Students

Worksheet A: Defining Idioms & Writing Sentences with Idioms

Worksheet B: Reading Idioms in Context & Describing Meanings

Fun Animal Idiom Games for the Classroom

Animal Idioms Crossword

Animal Idioms BINGO

Animal Idioms Checklist (for BINGO)

107 Idioms and Phrases About Animals

*Updated: December 2021

Idiom / Phrase	Meaning	Example Sentence
a barking dog never bites	a person who constantly threatens never acts	Don't worry about his vocal threats. He won't hurt you physically.
a cat in gloves catches no mice	being too careful can result in failure	You need to tell her how you really feel if you want to marry her. Remember that a cat in gloves catches no mice.
a little bird told me	someone told me a secret	A little bird told me that you're getting a divorce.
a whale of a time	an exciting experience	The family had a whale of a time at the theme park.
ants in your pants	anxious or nervous	Frank had ants in his pants before taking his exam.
bark up the wrong tree	look in the wrong place or falsely accuse	He asked me if I broke his laptop. I said he was barking up the wrong tree.
bark up the wrong tree	pursue misguided action	Stop accusing me. I'm innocent. You're barking up the wrong tree!
beast of burden	someone carries others problems	I will never be your beast of burden. You have got to deal with your own problems.
beat a dead horse	dwell on a topic beyond resolution	I told you several times that I won't do it. Don't beat a dead horse!
bell the cat	take on a difficult task	Politicians should bell the cat and start reducing the inflation rate.
black sheep	unaccepted group member	Tom was the black sheep of the family and preferred to do things on his own.
call your dogs off	stop criticizing or attacking	I paid you all of the money. I don't owe you anything. Call your dogs off!
cat and mouse	playfully deceive	The boss kept playing cat and mouse with me and never gave me the raise.
cat around	sleep with many people	His wife used to cat around while he was working hard at the office.
cat burglar	quick thief	The cat burglar took everything in the house before the cops arrived.
cat got your tongue	said when someone doesn't speak	What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? You haven't said a word since we arrived.
cat on a hot tin roof	very nervous	I felt like a cat on a hot tin roof waiting for my medical results.
cat's cradle	something overly complicated	There is a cat's cradle of rules that you must follow to board a flight these days.
cat's meow	something wonderful	Her birthday cake was the cat's meow. She ate the whole thing in less than a minute!
cat's paw	someone being exploited	Poorer citizens are usually the cat's paw of politicians. They use them only to get votes and never follow through on promised policies.
catcall	sexually suggestive comment	The construction workers were all catcalling the woman as she walked by.
catfight	a fight between two women	The catfight was brutal! The other girl scratched her face with her nails.
catnap	a short sleep	My father always takes a catnap after work.
chicken out	avoid doing something because of fear	Mary was going to go skydiving, but she chickened out.
clam up	become quiet	Tom always clams up when you ask him about his ex-girlfriend.
cool cat	a hip or cool person	He was such a coot cat. He was respected by his peers and the girls all loved him.
copycat	someone who copies another	You're such a copycat! Do your own work!
crocodile tears	fake tears	Her little daughter always cries crocodile tears to get whatever she wants.
curiosity killed the cat	curiosity may lead to unwanted circumstances	Don't enter that haunted house. Remember that curiosity killed the cat!
dog and bone	a telephone	She is speaking with her boyfriend on the dog and bone.
dog and pony show	elaborate presentation	The designer bag showcase was such a dog and pony show.
dog days	very hot days	The dog days of summer are really humid and uncomfortable.
dog-eared	folded corners of pages in a book	He dog-eared the pages of the book instead of using a bookmark.
dog-eat-dog world	competitive	American political debates are a dog-eat-dog world.
dog-tired	very tired	She was dog-tired after running the marathon.
dog's bollocks	the best	That new Tesla is the dog's bollocks.
dog's breakfast	very messy	Her mother was upset because her son's room was like a dog's breakfast.
doggy bag	food taken home after a restaurant meal	My girlfriend barely ate her dinner so she asked the waiter for a doggy bag.
dogs of war	destruction caused by war	Famine and poverty are unfortunately common dogs of war.
dogsbody	someone who does all the work	The chef was the dogsbody in the kitchen. Everyone else broke dishes.
don't count chickens before they hatch	don't plan for something that may not happen	Zoe bought the dress, before anyone asked her to the prom. I told her not to count her chickens before they hatch.
double dog dare	challenge defiantly	She double dog dared me to go hang gliding so I had to do it!
drop like flies	die or give up quickly	The other candidates dropped like flies at the end of the election.
eager beaver	someone who is excited about something	She's such an eager beaver when checking updates on Instagram.
early bird	someone who likes to wake up early	Sara is such an early bird. She gets up before the sun rises.
elephant in the room	a sensitive unaddressed issue	The couple's money problem was an elephant in the room. They never talk about finances.
every dog has its day	everyone has success eventually	Keep shooting and you will score. Every dog has its day.
fat cat	wealthy person	Fat cats get wealthier with inflation while the poor have to pay more for groceries.
fishy	strange or suspicious	Something fishy is going on. He takes his wedding ring off when he leaves.
fly in the ointment	annoyance that spoils enjoyment	The wedding crasher was such a fly in the ointment.
glory hound	someone looking for fortune or fame	He's such a glory hound. He loves the attention from the press.
grin like a Cheshire cat	mischievously satisfied	She was grinning like a Cheshire cat after she had used her boyfriend's credit card.
hair of the dog	drinking alcohol to cure a hangover	The hair of the dog is the best remedy for a hangover.
have a cow	get upset	Don't have a cow! It's not like I scratched the car on purpose!
hold your horses	wait and be patient	Hold your horses! I'll be ready in a minute.
holy cow	that is surprising	Holy cow! Did she really dye her hair blue?
horse around	play roughly	Stop horsing around kids. You're in the library.
hot dog	show off	What a hot dog! He's stickhandling the puck around every player!
in the dog house	in trouble	The coach won't let me play. I'm in the dog house.
keep the wolves at bay	stay safe from or prevent near disaster	He needed a part-time job to keep the wolves at bay and to avoid serious debt.
kill two birds with one stone	accomplish two things at once	Why not kill two birds with one stone and brush your teeth in the shower?
kitty corner	diagonally across from	Starbucks is kitty corner to the gas station.
lazy as a dog	very lazy	I was lazy as a dog last weekend. I stayed in bed on Saturday and Sunday.
lead a dog's life	unhappy life	Her father lead a dog's life trying to raise her and she never appreciated him.
let sleeping dogs lie	avoid interfering in something that may create trouble	Don't bring up old arguments. It's best to let sleeping dogs lie.
let the cat out of the bag	reveal a secret	Don't let the cat out of the bag about the birthday party.
let the dog see the rabbit	remove unnecessary obstructions	It's time to let the dog see the rabbit. Bring the batter up to the big leagues!
like herding cats	a difficult task	Getting everyone to take the vaccine is like herding cats.
like the cat got the cream	satisfaction with some kind of achievement	After proving her innocence, she smiled at the police officer like the cat got the cream.
lion's share	the majority of something	You took the lion's share of the money. All I got was a couple pennies.
look what the cat dragged in	someone unwelcome has arrived	Look what the cat dragged in. We told you to stay home and talk to your therapist.
monkey see, monkey do	silly people copy each other	Monkey see, monkey do. Your brother spilt ketchup on his shirt too.
more than one way to skin a cat	more than one way to succeed	There's more than one way to skin a cat. Let's quit our jobs and start a business by the beach!
nest egg	saved money	She has a huge nest egg, so she doesn't have to work anymore.
no room to swing a cat	very small place	There's no room to swing a cat in this apartment. I can almost touch the two walls with both hands.
not have a cat's chance in hell	no chance whatsoever	You don't have a cat's chance in hell of marrying her.
pig out	eat a lot	Last night, I pigged out on a bag of potato chips.
plenty of other fish in the sea	there are many other available partners	Don't worry. You'll find another girl. There are plenty of other fish in the sea.
puppy dog eyes	innocent facial expression	His daughter showed him puppy dog eyes after dropping his ice cream cone.
puppy love	teenager romantic love	It was just puppy love during high school but they broke up in university.
put the cat among pigeons	an action that causes problems	You really put the cat among pigeons when you brought up those bill payments again.
raining cats and dogs	raining heavily	It's raining cats and dogs. Remember your umbrella.
rat race	competitive struggle	I escaped the rat race in the office and moved to Hawaii.
red herring	something that draws attention away from an important topic	The President's gambling addiction was just a red herring for the pipeline problems.
rock hound	a geologist	The gold miner is such a rock hound. He is going to be very wealthy.
run with the big dogs	compete with the top performers	It's time to run with the big dogs when you play in the Premier League.
scaredy-cat	someone who is always scared	Are you really afraid of the dark? You're such a scaredy-cat!
screw the pooch	fail	Carl really screwed the pooch on the exam. He's the only one who failed.
see a man about his dog	go to the bathroom	I left the dinner table to see a man about his dog.
shooting fish in a barrel	easy or not challenging	For my brilliant little brother, setting up the Wifi connection is like shooting fish in a barrel.
sick as a dog	very sick	I was sick as a dog on Monday, so I couldn't go to work.
sleep with the fishes	die	Before pulling the trigger, he told the gangster to sleep with the fishes.
smell a rat	suspect deception	I smell rat. I know I left my wallet on my desk, but it's gone.
straight from the horse's mouth	directly from the source	The boss said we're bankrupt. The news came straight from the horse's mouth.
take the bull by the horns	be brave and face a challenge	If you want to be rich, take the bull by the horns and work harder.
the birds and the bees	sex education	I remember learning about the birds and the bees in middle school.
the cat's pyjamas	the best person or thing	She's the cat's pyjamas. Everyone loves to watch her perform on the stage.
the cat's whiskers	the best person or thing	Do you think you're really the cat's whiskers? Anybody can parallel park with car sensors now.
the lion's share	the majority	She was upset because her sister got the lion's share of the inheritance.
three dog night	very cold	Looks like it's going to be a three dog night. It's going to minus 40 degrees.
throw to the dogs	allow someone to be attacked	Why did you throw me to the dogs yesterday? I couldn't defend myself.
until the cows come home	for a long time	She can watch Netflix until the cows come home.
wag the dog	distract attention from	The politician wags the dog to prevent people from discovering his scandal.
water off a duck's back	a harmful remark that has no effect on someone	She insulted me but I didn't care. It was like water off a duck's back.
while the cat's away, the mice will play	people will misbehave when there is no authority figure	They never do any work when the boss is out of the office. While the cat's away, the mice will play!
wild goose chase	lengthy undertaking that accomplishes little	Making the playoffs is now a wild goose chase. The team should focus on player development.
work like a dog	work very hard	My boss has me working like a dog.