50+ common animal idioms in English with meanings and examples
elsaspeakadmin
August 28, 2026
Idioms
Animal idioms are fun and colorful English expressions to describe people, situations, behaviors, and much more. In this guide, you’ll discover English animal idioms, their figurative meaning with examples, and practical tips to help you remember idioms longer.
Common animal idioms and their meanings
Below are more than 20 animal idioms along with their meanings and examples:
English animal idioms about dogs
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Every dog has its day | Everyone gets a chance to succeed | Don’t give up this time. Every dog has its day. |
| Let sleeping dogs lie | Don’t bring up old problems | The conversation ended a few days ago. Let sleeping dogs lie. |
| Barking up the wrong tree | Blame or ask the wrong person | If you think I broke the vase, you’re barking up the wrong tree. |
| Work like a dog | Work very hard | He worked like a dog for his bonus paycheck. |
| Dog-eat-dog | Very competitive | The business industry is a dog-eat-dog world. |
| Underdog | A person expected to lose | The underdog surprised everyone by winning the race. |
| You can’t teach an old dog new tricks | Old habits are hard to change | He still prefers using paper maps. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks. |
| Dog and pony show | An elaborate presentation intended to impress rather than provide useful information | The meeting quickly turned from a serious discussion to a dog and pony show. |
Animal idioms about cats
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Let the cat out of the bag | Reveal a secret | Stacy let the cat out of the bag about the party. |
| Curiosity killed the cat | Being too curious can cause trouble | Don’t ask too many questions. Curiosity killed the cat. |
| A cat has nine lives | Someone survives difficult situations | I thought he’d be hospitalized in that accident. That guy must have nine lives! |
| Fight like cats and dogs | Fight or argue a lot | Even if they fight like cats and dogs, they still care about each other. |
| Cat got your tongue? | Why are you so quiet? | What happened? Cat got your tongue? |
| Scaredy-cat | A person who is easily scared | He’s a scaredy-cat. |
| Fat cat | A rich or powerful person | We got a fat cat visiting our event this afternoon. |
| Like herding cats | Be difficult to organize | Getting everyone to agree on a destination was like herding cats. |
Animal idioms with meanings about horses:
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Hold your horses | Wait or slow down | Hold your horses! I haven’t gotten ready yet! |
| Get off your high horse | Stop acting superior | Get off your high horse, no one wants to listen to you. |
| Beat a dead horse | Keep discussing something pointless | Stop beating the dead horse! |
| Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth | Don’t complain about a gift | The phone was free, so don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. |
| Dark horse | An unexpected winner | I didn’t expect that dark horse would win the championship. |
| Eat like a horse | Eat a lot | He was so hungry, he ate like a horse. |
| Put the cart before the horse | Do things in the wrong order | Planning the wedding before engagement is like putting the cart before the horse. |
| A one-horse town | A small, quiet town | I went back to my hometown yesterday. It was a one-horse town. |
Animal idioms list about birds
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Kill two birds with one stone | Do two things at once | I’ll kill two birds with one stone by going grocery shopping on my way home from work. |
| Birds of a feather flock together | Similar people stay together | John likes snowboarding and Jane likes skiing. Birds of a feather flock together. |
| A little bird told me | Someone told me a secret | A little bird told me that you were hiding my pen. |
| Watch like a hawk | Watch very carefully | The teacher was watching the student like a hawk during the exam. |
| Night owl | A person who stays up late | He’s a night owl. |
| Spread your wings | Become more independent | You need to go out and spread your wings. |
| A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush | What you have is better than an uncertain option | If I were you, I’d accept that job. A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. |
Other animal-related idioms
Below are more than 10 animal idioms with meanings:
Animal idioms in English about people and personality
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| The black sheep of the family | A person who is different from their family | He’s the black sheep of the family. |
| A snake in the grass | A person who pretends to be friendly but is not | I don’t like Mary. She’s a snake in the grass. |
| A lone wolf | Someone who prefers to be alone | Jake is a lone wolf who prefers to work on the project all by himself. |
| A social butterfly | Someone who enjoys meeting people | She has a lot of friends. She’s such a social butterfly. |
| A wolf in sheep’s clothing | Someone who looks harmless but is dangerous | Don’t interact with that guy. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. |
| Busy as a bee | Very busy and active | She’s been busy as a bee to prepare for her study abroad. |
| Eager beaver | Someone who is very enthusiastic and hardworking | Tom is an eager beaver. You can try asking him for help. |
Animal idioms and phrases about success and challenges
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Take the bull by the horns | Deal with a difficult situation directly | Just take the bull by the horns and ask our manager. |
| Have bigger fish to fry | Have more important things to do | Don’t bother me with that. I have bigger fish to fry. |
| Separate the sheep from the goats | Identify the better or more capable people | The final test will separate the sheep from the goats. |
| Sort the sheep from the goats | Separate people or things into different groups based on quality | Why don’t you try to sort the sheep from the goats? |
| Get the lion’s share | Get the largest part of something | He did most parts of the project. He deserved to get the lion’s share. |
| Throw someone to the wolves | Leave someone to face a difficult situation alone | Don’t throw John to the wolves. Help him. |
| A fish out of water | Feel uncomfortable in a new situation | He was like a fish out of water at the party. |
Animal idioms about emotions and behavior
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Have ants in your pants | Be unable to sit still | Stop moving around. Do you have ants in your pants? |
| Get someone’s goat | Annoy someone | Stop getting my goat! |
| Have a frog in your throat | Have difficulty speaking because your throat feels blocked | He had a frog in his throat due to his nervousness during the interview. |
| Butterflies in your stomach | Feel nervous or excited | She has butterflies in her stomach before prom. |
| Clam up | Suddenly stop talking | He suddenly clammed up when Rick walked in. |
| Go ape | Become very excited or angry | They went ape when they saw the new movie poster. |
| Pig out | Eat a lot of food | We pigged out on the pizza while watching the movie. |
Animal idioms about impossible situations
| Idiom | Meaning | Example |
| Open a can of worms | Create a complicated problem | Great, you just opened a can of worms. |
| The elephant in the room | An obvious problem nobody wants to discuss | So no one wants to talk about the elephant in the room? |
| In the belly of the beast | In the center of a difficult or dangerous situation | The journalist went into the belly of the beast to report about the conflict. |
| When pigs fly | Something will never happen | When pigs fly, he’ll clean his room. |
| Until the cows come home | For a very long time | He won’t return until the cows come home. |
| When donkeys fly | Something is extremely unlikely to happen | She’ll apologize when donkeys fly. |
How to learn and remember animal idioms in English
Animal related idioms can be quite tricky to remember due to their figurative meaning having little or nothing to do with the animals mentioned. Instead of memorizing long lists, try these practical strategies below:
- Group idioms by meaning or animals: Try to organize these idioms into smaller groups, such as idioms about cats, dogs, horses. You can also try to group them by meaning for easier understanding and remembering.
- Learn them in context: Instead of learning only by books, try to pay attention to how native speakers use these expressions in conversations, movies, and other English content.
- Create your own example: Jot down a few sentences using each new idiom and connect them to your own life. This will help you remember when to use them much easier.
- Practice listening and speaking: Listen for these English animal idioms in content like podcasts, TV shows, movies, then practice saying them aloud so you can become familiar with their pronunciation, rhythm, and usage.
- Review regularly: Don’t try to memorize all idioms in one go. Instead, learn them bit by bit, then review them over several days using flashcards, quizzes, or short writing exercises to strengthen your long-term memory.
>> Read more: 100+ funny idioms that will make you laugh
Learning animal idioms is a fun way to expand your vocabulary and sound more natural in everyday conversations.For more interesting idioms, meanings, and examples, visit the Vocabulary category on the ELSA Speak blog to discover practical English lessons and expert tips for using English naturally.
