Vocabulary Animal Farm
Learning idioms
Idioms
a. cock-and-bull story = very hard to believe and probably untrue
b. flog a dead horse = try to do something which is doomed to failure
c. have a bee in your bonnet = be obsessed by something
d. hold your horses = wait a moment; don’t rush
e. let sleeping dogs lie = don’t look for trouble
f. smell a rat = suspect that something is wrong
g. take the bull by the horns = face a problem instead of running away
h. as the crow flies = distance in a straight line
i. donkey's years = a very long time
j. straight from the horse's mouth = directly from a reliable source
k. top dog = the most important person; the main character
l. until the cows came home = for a very long time
m. rat race = business and confusion
n. a wolf in sheep’s clothing = pretending to be good when someone is bad
o. getting on your high horse = behaving with arrogance
p. getting off her high horse = beginning to feel humble and agreeable
q. scaredy cat = someone who is frightened
r. having a cow = to be worried, upset, or angry about something
s. swimming with sharks = to operate among dangerous people
t. little birdie = not saying how you find out about something
or who told you
u. fishy = seeming dishonest or false
v. being a chicken = someone who is not brave
w. being a parrot = to repeat something without thought
x. being foxy = being attractive
Idioms about dogs
that one may easily find that page again
chaotic, badly organized or very untidy
anything to be successful, even if what they
do hurts other people
do something properly because you made mistakes, or you are clumsy
Animal vocabulary