Idioms with parts of animals
- Claw your way back/into/out of to: to achieve something or move forwards by making a big effort or with difficulty. I clawed my way to success in business.
- Hoof it: (informal) to go on foot because transportation is unavailable. We have to hoof it to the station.
- Raise hackles (make someone’s hackles rise): to make someone angry. His jokes raised my hackles.
- Be on horns of a dilemma: having to make a choice between two equally important alternatives. I found myselfon the horns of a dilemma.
- Draw in your horns: to behave carefully in order to spend less money than before. I draw in my horns, after I resign.
- Get the hump: (informal) to get upset. I get the hump when my team loses.
- Over the hump: (informal) : past the hardest part of something. We are finally over the hump after hard work.
- Get your snout in the trough: When you get your snout in the trough, it means you try or hurry to get a lot of money.
- Turn tail: to turn around and flee from danger. They turned tail and ran away from the fight.
- Be on someone’s tail: to drive after someone. There is a red car on my tail.
- Can’t make head nor tail of: to not understand at all: We can’t make head nor tail of this Russian book.
- Chase your tail: to work hard to do something but achieve very little. You can’t repair the bicycle. You’re justchasing your tail.
- Be the cat’s whiskers: (informal) to be superior person. The model thinks she’s the cat’s whiskers.
- By a whisker: narrowly; by a slight amount. The athlete won by a whisker.
- Come out of your shell: to become more confident and outgoing when spending time with other people. Hecame out of his shell and had a very sociable weekend.
- Birds of a feather: people with similar characters. Tony is my best friend. We’re birds of a feather.
- A feather in your cap: a great achievement; success to be proud of. It’s a feather in your cap to receive the commendation for bravery.
- Clip your wings: to restrain someone from acting freely. My parents never tried to clip my wings.
- Wait in the wings: to be ready to replace someone: ready to be active. Two talented players are waiting in the wings.
- On the wing: in flight. He shot the crow on the wing.
- Spread your wings: to feel more confident to try something new. It is time to leave home and spread your wings.
- Take under your wing: to take care of someone. He took the child with cancer under his wing.
- Take wing: to begin to fly. As soon as it saw me, the stork took wing.
