English Vocabulary

Animal Idioms - Idioms Derived From the names of animals - Part 2

Lead a dog’s life

When you lead a dog’s life, you live in abject misery.
She has been leading a dog’s life since the untimely demise of her husband.

Go to the dogs (be ruined)

He was never the right person to be the manager. Under his management the company went to the dogs.

Not a dog’s chance (no chance at all)

You don’t have a dog’s chance to win the first prize.

Eat like a horse (eat a lot)

If you eat like a horse you will soon fall ill.

Put the cart before the horse (reverse the logical order of things)

The lion’s share (the biggest portion/share)

When the ancestral property was divided, he got the lion’s share.

Monkey about/around (behave in a foolish or silly way)

Stop monkeying about. You are a grown up boy.

Play a cat-and-mouse game with someone (keep someone in a state of suspense or uncertainty)

The management is playing a cat-and-mouse game with the workers on strike.

Rat race (the fierce, unending competition for success or wealth)

I am getting tired of this rat race. I just want to go and live a quiet life somewhere.

Smell a rat (have a feeling that something is wrong somewhere)

She smelled a rat when her husband suddenly started working late.

Separate the sheep from the goats (choose people or things of high quality from a group of mixed quality)

The success of an HR manager lies in his/her ability to separate the sheep from the goats.

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