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Dainty Dose of Delightful Information

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31. Fly on the wall
He is a fly on the wall who is able to see and hear things as they take place.

32. Sing like a canary
This means telling everything we know about a crime to the police or the authorities.

33. Shaggy dog story
A joke which is a long story but has a very silly ending.

34. Night owl
A night owl is someone who stays up till very late at nights.

35. Every dog has its day
Everyone great or small gets his very own moment to shine and bask in glory.
 

36. Mess with a bull, you get the horns
If you do something stupid or dangerous, you might get hurt.

37. Put lipstick on a pig
When people put lipstick on a pig, they make superficial changes, hoping to make the product more attractive.

38. Water off a duck's back
If severe criticism does not affect a person in the least.

39. Small fry
If someone is small fry, he is quite unimportant as when the police arrest the less important criminals, but are unable to catch the masterminds.

40. Work like a dog
If you work like a dog, you work very hard.
 
41. Jump the shark
Said of an activity at which the popularity of something begins to wane or decrease.
The expression is derived from an episode of the television sitcom 'Happy Days'
which was widely recognized as the 'beginning of the end ' of that popular series.

42. Talk turkey
When people 'talk turkey', they discuss something very frankly.

43. Within a whisker
If we come within a whisker of doing something, we almost managed to do it but sadly don't succeed.

44. Quiet as a cat
A person is as quiet as a cat if he makes very little noise and is almost unnoticeable.

45. Dog-eared
If a book is in a very bad condition with torn pages and ruined corners, it is said to be dog-eared.
 
46. Vultures are circling
When the vultures are circling, then there is danger for its enemies and they are about to get killed.

47. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink
We can offer something like good advice to someone, but we cannot force them take it.

48. Pigs might fly / pigs can fly / pigs will fly
When we think that something will never happen, we can say 'pigs might fly'

49. Like a moth to a flame
Something is like a moth to a flame, when one is attracted to something that is really dangerous.

50. You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
This means that we can persuade people more easily with polite arguments than by opposing harshly.
 
6. Like a cat on hot bricks (tense, nervous, restless)

7. Play like an ostrich (when in danger ostrich is supposed to bury its head in sand meaning someone who is nt willing to see reality or unpleasant truths)

8. Pretty kettle of fish (awkward state of affairs, unpleasant)

9. Packed like sardines (tightly packed or crushed as in a packed bus)

10. Pecking order (similar to chicken, the order or rank of importance)
 
51. If you fly with the crows, you get shot with the crows
If we wish to associate with a particular high profile situation and benefit from it, we should also be ready to face the consequences if things go wrong.

52. Cat among the pigeons
If we let the cat among the pigeons, we are creating a disturbance and thereby causing trouble.

53. When the chickens come home to roost
If the foul deed of the past makes a person pay dearly for it, the chickens come home to roost.


54. Ducks in a row
If we are well-organized, then we have our ducks in a row,

55. Swim with the fishes / Sleep with the fishes
If a person is dead or murdered, he is swimming / sleeping with the fishes.
 
56. White elephant
A white elephant is an expensive burden. It is something that costs too much to maintain.

57. Throw pearls to the pigs / Cast pearls before swine
When we give something to a person who will never appreciate it, we are throwing pearls to the pigs / casting pearls before swine.

58. Play possum
To pretend to be dead or in deep sleep to escape from a danger or an unpleasant situation.

59. Dog's dinner
Something that is a real mess is a dog's dinner.

60. You could have knocked me down with a feather
This idiom is used when the person was bewildered / shocked / surprised beyond words.
 

61. Dog's life
To lead a dog's life, is to be very unlucky and live a hard wretched life.

62. If you lie down with dogs, you will get up with fleas
This means that when we mix with bad company, there will be unpleasant consequences.

63. Snipe hunt
A snipe hunt is a situation in which someone is sent on a wild goose chase. He is tricked into chasing something that does not exist in reality.

64. Dark horse
A dark horse is a mysterious person about whom and whose performance we know very little.

65. Cock in the hen house
When a male gets placed in an all-female environment he is the cock in the hen house.
 
66. Love me, love my dog
If we love someone, we are expected to accept everything about him / her in addition to the people he / she likes.

67. More than one way to skin a cat
When there are different ways of doing the something, there is more than one way to skin a cat.

68. On your high horse
A person who is adamant and arrogant is on his high horse.

69. Separate the sheep from the goats
When we sort out the good from the bad, we separate the sheep from the goats.

70. Ugly duckling
An ugly duckling is a child who appears to be very ordinary, but who later transforms into a great / beautiful person.
 
71. In a dog's age
If we haven't done something for a very long time, then we haven't done it in a dog's age.

72. Drunker than a peach orchard boar
Completely drunk, similar to the boar which eats the fermented peaches that have dropped from the tree in the orchard.

73. Proud as a peacock
A person who is as proud as a peacock is excessively proud and conceited

74. Nature of the beast
When there is something that cannot be changed, it is the nature of the beast.

75. Juggle frogs
If we are juggling frogs, we are trying to do something extremely difficult.
 
தமிழிலும் உள்ளன பிராணிகளைப் பற்றிய பல மொழிகள்.

1. மது அருந்திக் கூத்தாடும் மந்தியை
மெதுவாகத் தேள் கொட்டினார்ப் போல.

2. குரங்கு கையில் பூமாலை போல.

3. கொட்டுவதற்கு மட்டுமே கற்றுள்ள தேள் போல.

4. கொம்பேறி மூக்கன் கடித்துவிட்டு
கொம்பேறிக் காத்திருப்பது போல.

5. ஈக்கு வாயும், தேளுக்கு வாலும் போல.
 
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76. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while
This means that Luck favors even the unlucky ones sometime or the other.

77. Busy as a beaver
If we are as busy as a beaver, we are extremely busy indeed.

78. Hive of worker bees
A hive of worker bees denotes a group of people who working actively and with cooperation.

79. Pull a rabbit out of your hat When we do something completely unexpected, then we pull a rabbit out of a hat.

80. Hangdog expression
A hangdog expression is a mixture of misery and self-pity shown clearly and unmistakably.
 
6. எருமை வாங்குமுன் நெய் விலை பேசாதே.

7. எலி வளை ஆனாலும் தனி வளை வேண்டும்.

8. கழுதைக்குத் தெரியுமா கற்பூர வாசனை?

9. தானம் கொடுத்த மாட்டைப் பல்லைப் பிடித்துப் பார்க்காதே.

10. பார்த்தல் பூனை, பாய்ந்தால் புலி.
 
It is a foolish fish that falls for the same bait twice.
It is a foolish fox that gets trapped in the same snare twice.
once a busy thread became a personal diary for the folks here
and I still remember the unpleasant consequences!
 
Visalakshi Ramani said:
......... 10. பார்த்தால் பூனை, பாய்ந்தால் புலி.
Click to expand...
பார்த்தால் பசு, பாய்ந்தால் புலி? :decision:பார்த்தால் பூனை, பாய்ந்தால் புலி?
 
பார்த்தால் பசு, பாய்ந்தால் புலி = பார்த்தால் பூனை, பாய்ந்தால் புலி
 
quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by Visalakshi Ramani

This thread is meant exclusively for the idioms

and current topic is idioms involving animals.


Visalakshi Ramani said:


Posts in any language are welcome as long as they are idioms involving animals.
Click to expand...


Animals CAN BE trained to OBEY! :whip:

But some people...never!!! :deadhorse:
 
Visalakshi Ramani said:
quote_icon.png
Originally Posted by Visalakshi Ramani

This thread is meant exclusively for the idioms

and current topic is idioms involving animals.





Animals CAN BE trained to OBEY! :whip:

But some people...never!!! :deadhorse:
Click to expand...


hee!!! gee!!!!

(apologies in advance for the msg not being an idiom or a proverb
 
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