Chapter 22 · Animals

Elementary Vocabulary. Chapter 22, Animals. Idioms.

As busy as a bee

She's as busy as a bee before Christmas.

As blind as a bat

Without my glasses, I'm as blind as a bat.

As stubborn as a mule

He won't change his mind — he's as stubborn as a mule.

A lone wolf

He works alone; he's a bit of a lone wolf.

A copycat

Stop copying my answers, you copycat!

A dark horse

The new player was the dark horse of the tournament.

Let the cat out of the bag

She let the cat out of the bag about the surprise party.

When pigs fly

"He'll clean his room." "Yeah, when pigs fly."

The elephant in the room

Nobody mentioned the money — the elephant in the room.

Like a fish out of water

At the fancy party, I felt like a fish out of water.

Open a can of worms

Asking about his ex-wife would open a can of worms.

Back the wrong horse

We backed the wrong horse when we chose that supplier.

Hold your horses

Hold your horses — we haven't decided yet.

Beat a dead horse

Stop arguing about it — you're beating a dead horse.

The lion's share

My brother ate the lion's share of the pizza.

Chicken out

He wanted to jump, but he chickened out.

Have butterflies in one's stomach

I had butterflies in my stomach before the exam.

Like a deer in the headlights

When the teacher asked him, he looked like a deer in the headlights.

A snake in the grass

Don't trust him — he's a snake in the grass.

Rat someone out

Somebody ratted us out to the principal.

Smell a rat

When he offered to help for free, I smelled a rat.

Follow like sheep

People often follow trends like sheep.

Separate the sheep from the goats

The final exam separates the sheep from the goats.

Grin and bear it

The dentist was painful, but I had to grin and bear it.

Kill two birds with one stone

I walked to school and got some exercise — killed two birds with one stone.

Cry wolf

If you cry wolf too often, nobody will believe you.

A little bird told me

A little bird told me you're getting a promotion.