Vocabulary Animal Farm

cock-and-bull story

very hard to believe and probably untrue

flog a dead horse

try to do something which is doomed to failur

have a bee in your bonnet

be obsessed by something

hold your horses

wait a moment, don’t rush

let sleeping dogs lie

don’t look for trouble

smell a rat

suspect that something is wrong

take the bull by the horns

face a problem instead of running away

as the crow flies

distance in a straight line

donkey's years

a very long time

straight from the horse's mouth

directly from a reliable source

top dog

the most important person, the main character

until the cows came home

for a very long time

rat race

business and confusion

a wolf in sheep’s clothing

pretending to be good when someone is bad

getting on your high horse

behaving with arrogance

getting off her high horse

beginning to feel humble and agreeable

scaredy cat

someone who is frightened

having a cow

to be worried, upset, or angry about something

swimming with sharks

to operate among dangerous people

little birdie

not saying how you find out about something or who told you

fishy

seeming dishonest or false

being a chicken

someone who is not brave

being a parrot

to repeat something without thought

being foxy

being attractive

raining cats and dogs

to rain very heavily

a dog’s life

a horrible life

dog ears

to turn down the corner of a page of a book so that one may easily find that page again

a dog’s dinner

a situation, event or piece of work that is chaotic, badly organized or very untidy

dog eat dog

to describe a situation in which people will do anything to be successful, even if what they do hurts other people

a dog’s breakfast

something that is messy or bungled (failing to do something properly because you made mistakes, or you are clumsy