Animal Idioms

He had ants in his pants.

Here are some common idioms based on animals. Each entry includes the meaning of the idiom and shows the idiom in context in an example sentence. At the end is an animal idioms quiz to check your understanding.

idiom	meaning	example sentence
ants in one's pants	unable to sit still or remain calm out of nervousness or excitement	Lisa had ants in her pants the day before her interview.
(the) birds and the bees	sex education	I learned about the birds and the bees when my baby brother was born.
cat nap	a short sleep	I'm going to have a cat nap while you're cooking dinner.
cat's got one's tongue	said about someone who doesn't speak (usually due to shyness)	It looks like the cat's got your tongue, Lucy. Are you always this quiet?
chicken out	to decide not to do something out of fear (usually just before)	I was going to take a ride on Geoff's motorcycle, but I chickened out when he gave me a helmet to wear.
clam up	become quiet suddenly	Arthur clammed up when I asked him about his family.
copy cat	a person who does the same thing as someone else	My sister is such a copy cat. First she bought the same car as me, and now she's applying to my school.
dog days	very hot days	I sleep in the basement during the dog days of August.
dropping like flies	dying/giving up quickly	My roses are dropping like flies in this early frost.
eager beaver	a person who is excited about doing certain work	Ever since he got his new drill set my husband has been an eager beaver around the house.
fishy	odd, suspicious	I knew something fishy was going on when I saw all of my friends' cars in my mom's driveway.
have a cow	get extremely upset (often over something minor)	My teacher had a cow when she realized nobody had done the homework.
hold your horses	wait and be patient	Hold your horses! I'll be done in the washroom in a minute.
holy cow!	Wow, I'm surprised!	Holy cow! I can't believe you ate everything on your plate.
horse around	play roughly	If you're going to horse around, please go outside.
get the lion's share	get the greatest percentage	My aunt got the lion's share of the inheritance.
in the dog house	in trouble with another person	I don't think Marsha is coming out tonight. She's still in the dog house for forgetting Aaron's birthday.
kill two birds with one stone	get two things done at once	If you pick the groceries up when you drop George off for his shift, you will kill two birds with one stone.
kitty corner	diagonal direction	The gas station is kitty corner to the library.
let the cat out of the bag	reveal a secret	Who let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party?
(a) little bird told me	I heard something (usually secretive or unknown) from someone (not named)	A little bird told me that you are thinking of quitting your job.
make a beeline	go straight for something	My grandma made a beeline for the smoking room as soon as she got off the airplane.
monkey see, monkey do	silly/unintelligent people tend to copy each other's actions	Our one-year-old is saying bad words now. I told my husband, "Monkey see, monkey do!"
nest egg	money saved for the future	We have a nest egg that we might have to use if Jim goes on sick leave.
pig out	eat a lot of something	I pigged out on pancakes so I don't have room for lunch.
raining cats and dogs	raining heavily	I forgot my umbrella, and it was raining cats and dogs.
rat race	fierce, competitive struggle for power, position etc	I'm ready to leave this rat race and retire in Mexico.
smell a rat	begin to suspect trickery etc	I asked my brothers not to tell my parents that I went out, but I could smell a rat as soon as I opened the door.
straight from the horse's mouth	directly from the original source	I know Jenny is pregnant, because I heard it straight from the horse's mouth.
take the bull by the horns	face a challenge or danger boldly	If you really think you deserve a promotion, you'll have to take the bull by the horns.
until the cows come home	for a very long time	I could eat pizza and ice-cream until the cows come home.