I started writing down a few things I hear all too often … that involves animals in our world of humans.
- Canary in the coalmine
- Elephant in the room
- Monkey in the middle
So I decided to organize them with the ones I knew from above … for no good reason. And then I gave up because there’s a superior list on the Internet already :+).
Birds
- Canary in the coalmine
- Watch it like a hawk
- Birds and the bees
- Getting your ducks in a row
- Chicken out
- Kill two birds with one stone
- A little bird told me
- Which came first? The chicken or the egg?
- Nest egg
- Eagle eyes
- Wild goose chase
- Quitting cold turkey
Insects
- Ants in my pants
- Mad as a hornet
- Birds and the bees (hybrid)
- Wouldn’t hurt a fly
- At a snail’s pace
- Busy as a bee
- Dropping like flies
- Make a beeline
- Opening a can of worms
- Butterflies in my stomach
Marine Animals
- Clam up
- The world’s your oyster
- A whale of a tale
- Like a fish out of water
- Fish or cut bait
- That’s a red herring
- Like shooting fish in a barrel
- There’s something fishy
Cats
- Cat nap
- The cat’s meow
- Copy cat
- The cat’s got your tongue
- Let the cat out of the bag
- Kitty corner from your house
Dogs
- Going to the dogs
- Let sleeping dogs lie
- Dog days
- All bark and no bite
- Dog eat dog world
- Puppy love
- Can’t teach an old dog new tricks
- In the dog house
- Raining cats and dogs
- You get the pick of the litter
Rodents
- Rat race
- Smell a rat
Cow, Bull
- Until the cows come home
- Holy cow!
- Have a cow
- Take the bull by the horns
- Like a bull in a china shop
Pig/Sheep/Goat
- Pig-headed
- Pig out
- They can be the guinea pig
- Black sheep of the family
- That really gets my goat
- He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing
Horse
- Hold your horses!
- One trick pony
- Straight from the horse’s mouth
Monkey
- Monkey in the middle
- Well I’ll be a monkey’s uncle
- Monkey see, monkey do
Lion
- The lion’s share
Forest Animals
- Acting squirrely
- It’s a bear market
- Eager beaver
- Weasel out of it
Pet
- My pet peeve