Animal Idioms - Common English Idioms With Meaning

In today’s video, we’re going to  be learning 30 British idioms.  

An idiom is a common phrase  which is used colloquially  

but the meaning is not immediately obvious.  

We use so many idioms in our day to day life and  many of them are animal-related, so we’re going  

to focus on idioms which are animal-based today. The first idiom is: Fly on the wall. 
To be a fly  

on the wall means to be unnoticed while watching  or listening to something.
“They’re discussing  

the argument now. I’d love to be a fly on the  wall so I could hear what they were saying.” 

The second idiom is: Bee’s knees.
If something is  the bee’s knees, that means it is excellent and of  

the highest quality. You could also say someone is  the bee’s knees.
“This chocolate cake is the bee’s  

knees. You have to try it!” The third idiom is: To make a  

beeline.
To make a beeline for something means to  move towards it quickly and with purpose.
“I’ve  

wanted to meet Harry for ages so as soon  as I saw him, I made a beeline for him.” 

The fourth idiom is: To kill two birds with one  stone.
To kill two birds with one stone means  

to accomplish to tasks or objectives at once.
“I  wanted to try out the new restaurant and I haven’t  

seen Justine in ages so I’ve booked a table for  us both and it’ll kill two birds with one stone.” 

The fifth idiom is: Sitting duck.
A sitting  duck is an easy target, something or someone  

which is vulnerable to attack.
“If we leave the  shop doors unlocked it’ll be a sitting duck.” 

The sixth idiom is: To chicken out.
To  chicken out of something means to back  

out of it because of feeling scared or worried.  
“James was going to go on the rollercoaster  

but he chickened out at the last minute.” The seventh idiom is: A wild goose chase.
A wild  

goose chase is a pointless task, particularly  one that involves travel. 
“She sent me  

to the supermarket to buy socks but they don’t  even sell socks so it was a wild goose chase.” 

The eighth idiom is: To take a bull by its  horns.
This means to face a problem directly.  

Sometimes you might hear someone say to ‘grab’  a bull by its horns, which means the same  

thing.
“I hate confrontation but I’m so  

angry that I’m going to have to take  the bull by its horns and tell her.” 

The ninth idiom is: To horse around.
To horse  around means to act in a way that is silly  

and playful and sometimes noisy. 
“Will you please  stop horsing around? I’m trying to concentrate.” 

The tenth idiom is: Until the cows come  home.
Until the cows come home means for a long,  

possibly even never-ending length of time. It’s  usually used when talking about something that you  

‘could do’ for a long time because you enjoy  it.
“I could sit here and read until the cows  

come home but unfortunately, I’ve got work to do.” The eleventh idiom is: Dark horse.
A dark horse is  

somebody who is surprisingly good at something you  might not expect them to be. This could be used to  

describe someone in a competition who places much  higher than expected or someone who surprises you  

with their skill.
“Wow, Beth, you’re a dark  horse- I didn’t know you could bake so well!” 

The twelfth idiom is: Hold your horses.
To  

hold your horses means to wait.  
Person 1: (walks through the door)  

Hello.
Person 2: Brilliant, you’re  home. I’ve been wanting to talk to you  

about-
Person 1: Hold your horses,  I’ve only been here two seconds. 

The thirteenth idiom is: Straight from  the horse’s mouth.
If you hear something  

straight from the horse’s mouth, that means  you are hearing it straight from the source;  

from somebody who has direct  and personal experience.  


“I don’t usually pay attention to gossip but  I heard this straight from the horse’s mouth.” 

The fourteenth idiom is: In two shakes of a lamb’s  tail.
In two shakes of a lamb’s tail means in a  

very short amount of time.
“I’ll be back with  a cup of tea in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.” 

The fifteenth idiom is: To go the whole hog.
To  go the whole hog means to really commit to  

something and to take it as far as possible.
“Most  people in the office don’t celebrate Halloween,  

but Anna goes the whole hog every year.” The sixteenth idiom is: The cat’s  

pyjamas.
Similar to the bee’s knees, if something  or someone is the cat’s pyjamas, that means they  

are the best. 
“My last teacher wasn’t very good  but my new one is great- she’s the cat’s pyjamas.” 

The seventeenth idiom is: To let the cat  out of the bag.
To let the cat out of the  

bag means to reveal a secret. This could be  accidentally or it could be on purpose.
“I  

think it’s time I let the cat  out of the bag… I’m pregnant!” 

The eighteenth idiom is: Cat got your  tongue?
This is a question you might  

ask somebody who is being unusually quiet.  
“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” 

The nineteenth idiom is: Raining  cats and dogs.
If someone says it is  

raining cats and dogs, that means it  is raining very heavily outside.
“I  

wanted to go for a run but it’s raining cats and  dogs outside so I think I’ll go tomorrow instead.” 

The twentieth idiom is: To let sleeping dogs  lie.
To let sleeping dogs lie means to leave  

a situation alone, to not interfere so you  don’t cause trouble.
Person 1: “I’m so angry,  

I’m going to call her right now and argue with  her.”
Person 2: “Wait a minute. Don’t you think  

it might be better just to let sleeping dogs lie?” The twenty-first idiom is: In the doghouse.
To  

be in the doghouse means to be  in trouble or disgrace. Usually,  

because you’ve upset or angered somebody with  something you’ve done or not done.
“He forgot his  

girlfriend’s birthday so he’s in the doghouse.” The twenty-second idiom is: Dog eat dog.
‘Dog  

eat dog’ is a phrase we use to describe  an environment which is very competitive,  

to an extent where people are prepared  to harm one another to win.
“I  

hate working in that office because it’s dog  eat dog in there. Everybody tries to make each  

other look bad to make themselves look better.” The twenty-third idiom is: Ants in your pants.
If  

you have ants in your pants, that means you are  

restless and moving around a lot, usually  because you are nervous or excited.
Person 1:  

“You’ve got ants in your pants  today.”
Person 2: (pacing) “I’m so nervous  

about this job interview- I can’t sit still!” The twenty-fourth idiom is: To smell a rat.
To  

smell a rat means to be suspicious of a lie.  
“She said she couldn’t come to my birthday party  

because she had other plans but I smell a rat.” The twenty-fifth idiom is: Fishy.
If something is  

fishy, that means it is suspicious.
“There’s  

something fishy going on in that office.  Something’s not quite right with their numbers.” 

The twenty-sixth idiom is: To have bigger  fish to fry.
If you have bigger fish to fry,  

that means you have more  important or better things to  

do.
“Don’t worry about the invitations, you have  bigger fish to fry. You need to find a venue.” 

The twenty-seventh idiom is: Another kettle of  fish.
If something is another kettle of fish,  

or a whole other kettle of fish, that means  it is entirely different.
Person 1: “I’m just  

so stressed because we’re moving house and  it’s all changing so quickly.”
Person 2: “And  

how’s your mum?”
Person 1: “That’s  a whole other kettle of fish.” 

The twenty-eighth idiom is: Crocodile  tears.
Crocodile tears are fake tears,  

for example, if somebody is pretending to cry or  has forced themselves to cry to gain something.  


“I know they’re crocodile tears.  She doesn’t actually care about me.” 

The twenty-ninth idiom is: Elephant in the  room.
An elephant in the room is something obvious  

and uncomfortable which has not been  discussed.
“Obviously I know that  

he’s said horrible things about me but I didn’t  mention it so there’s an elephant in the room.” 

And finally, the thirtieth idiom is: To have the  lion’s share.
To have or get the lion’s share  

of something means to have the largest amount of  something.
“As the main character in Harry Potter,  

Daniel Radcliffe gets the lion’s  share of the praise but I think  

all of the other actors are just as good.” So there we have 30 British animal idioms.  

How many of them did you know already? And can  you think of any more which are not on this list?  

If you can, leave them in the comments and you get  bonus points if you can explain what it means too.

Don't forget to follow me on my  Instagram page where I regularly post  

idioms pretty much every other  day, so if you enjoy learning them  

then that's the place to be, otherwise,  I will see you in the next lesson.