English Idioms & Idiomatic Expressions
Animals - Birds - Fish - Insects
(page 11 : oyster → shark)
| close as an oyster | Someone who is
as close as an oyster will never reveal
something told in confidence or betray a
secret. Sophie will never repeat what you tell her. She's as close as an oyster. |
| the world is your oyster | This expression
means that you are free and able to enjoy
the pleasures and opportunities that life
has to offer. She left college feeling that the world was her oyster. |
| make a pig of yourself |
If you make a pig of yourself, you
eat and drink too much. Watch what you eat - don't make a pig of yourself! |
| make a pig's ear of |
If you make a pig's ear of
something, you do a task or a chore very
badly or make a complete mess of it. Gary offered to paint the kitchen but he made a pig's ear of it. |
| on the pig's back |
A person who is
on the pig's back is in a state of luck
and everything is going well for them. Before the recession, Ireland was on the pig's back, but the situation has changed greatly. |
| (put) lipstick on a pig |
This expression means that to 'dress up'
something unappealing or ugly, in a vain
attempt to make it look better, is like
putting lipstick on a pig. Flowers on that ugly old bridge would be (like putting) lipstick on a pig! |
| pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered | You should be satisfied when you have enough; if you are too greedy, like a hog, you risk losing everything. |
| pigs might fly | The expression
'pigs might fly' expresses disbelief,
or the idea that miracles might happen but
are extremely unlikely. My grandmother buying a computer? ... Yeah! ... and pigs might fly! |
| stool pigeon | A person who acts as
an informer, especially one who gives
information to the police or the
authorities, is called a stool pigeon. I don't trust Jack. I think he's a stool pigeon for the management. |
| shank's pony | If you go somewhere
on Shank's pony, you have to walk
rather than travel by bus, car, etc. It was impossible to find a taxi after the party, so it was Shank's pony for us! |
| play possum | When someone
plays possum, they pretend to be dead
or asleep in order to avoid something they
don't want to do. Sarah's not asleep. She's just playing possum because she doesn't want to come swimming. |
| rats in the attic | If you say that
someone has rats in the attic, you
mean that they are a bit mad or that their
behaviour is eccentric. She keeps repeating the same question. I think she's got rats in the attic. |
| smell a rat | To say 'I smell a
rat' means that you suspect that
something is wrong, or that someone is doing
something dishonest or incorrect. The profits announced are abnormally low. I smell a rat. |
| packed like sardines | If a group of people
are packed like sardines, they are
pressed together tightly and uncomfortably
because there is not enough space. The bus was very crowded - we were packed like sardines! |
| loan shark | A loan shark
is an authorized person who lends money at
extremely high interest rates to people who
are unable to obtain a loan from the bank. The young immigrant was beaten because he was late paying back money to a loan shark. |
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