Evolution vs Devolution
Animal Metaphors & Idioms Revision
In English, animals are often used to describe types of people. A WOLF is fierce, cruel, or greedy. Which animals fit the descriptions below?
Exercise 1: Which Animal Is Being Described?
Read each sentence carefully and choose the animal metaphor that best fits.
1."She's brilliant and always gives the best advice — people come to her with every problem."
2."He just goes along with whatever the group decides — never questions anything."
3."She works from dawn to midnight every single day — never stops."
4."He constantly talks about his salary, his car, and his designer clothes."
5."She completely changes her opinions and personality depending on who she is with."
6."He was treated terribly at his last job — they gave him all the worst tasks for no extra pay."
7."Without thinking once, she repeats everything she hears — word for word."
8."He never shows any warmth — totally cold, distant, and emotionless."
Exercise 2: Choose the Correct Idiom
Read each situation and select the animal idiom that best describes what is happening.
1.Every time Janet goes to a buffet, she fills three plates and eats until she can barely move.
2.When the journalist tried to interview him, he refused to say a single word.
3.Sarah accidentally mentioned the surprise party to the birthday girl.
4.After paying himself a lower salary for months, he now has enough to retire early.
5.I was going to jump off the diving board, but at the last second I backed away.
6.Our manager always takes most of the credit, even when the team did all the work.
Exercise 3: Match the Idiom to Its Meaning (Set 1)
Click an idiom on the left, then click its meaning on the right.
Idiom
Meaning
Exercise 4: Match the Idiom to Its Meaning (Set 2)
Click an idiom on the left, then click its meaning on the right.
Idiom
Meaning
N
E
R
D
Word Origin
Naturally Eccentric, Remarkably Different
Word Origin
Naturally Eccentric, Remarkably Different
| Word / Phrase | Category | Origin & Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Let the cat out of the bag | idiom | From a common market fraud: a piglet was sold in a bag, but the bag actually contained a worthless cat. 'Letting the cat out' exposed the trick — and the secret. |
| Smell a rat | idiom | Dogs and cats can literally smell rodents hiding nearby. The phrase captures that instinct of sensing something dishonest is lurking — before you can prove it. |
| Make a beeline | idiom | Bees fly in a remarkably straight path back to their hive after finding nectar. To 'make a beeline' is to go directly and without hesitation toward something. |
| Get the lion's share | idiom | From Aesop's fable in which a lion hunts alongside other animals, then claims all the meat by force. The lion's 'share' meant everything — leaving nothing for the others. |
| Nest egg | idiom | Farmers placed a fake ceramic egg in a hen's nest to encourage her to keep laying real eggs. Over time, the phrase came to mean savings carefully set aside for the future. |
| In the doghouse | idiom | Popularised by J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan (1904), where the father is banished to sleep in the dog's kennel as punishment. To be 'in the doghouse' is to be in disgrace with someone. |
| Raining cats and dogs | idiom | Likely from 17th-century London, where heavy rain would flood gutters and sweep dead animals through the streets. Another theory links it to Norse mythology: cats symbolised rain, dogs symbolised wind. |
| Until the cows come home | idiom | Cows allowed to graze freely wander back to the farm at their own unhurried pace — which could take an indefinitely long time. Used to mean 'forever' or 'as long as you like'. |
| Clam up | idiom | Clams shut their shells tightly the moment they sense danger, making them impossible to open. To 'clam up' is to suddenly go silent and refuse to speak, especially when questioned. |
| Chicken out | idiom | Chickens scatter and flee at the first sign of threat, making them a symbol of timidity. To 'chicken out' is to back away from something at the last moment out of fear or loss of nerve. |
| Pig out | idiom | From the image of pigs feeding greedily at a trough, eating as much as possible. American slang from the mid-20th century meaning to eat an excessive amount in one sitting. |
| Have a cow | idiom | American slang from the 1950s–60s. The image of a cow suddenly appearing — something large, unexpected, and alarming — captures the reaction of someone overreacting to minor news. |
| Hold your horses | idiom | A literal instruction to rein in your horses before they bolt. Used since the 19th century as a command to slow down, wait, or be patient before acting impulsively. |
| Horse around | idiom | From the rough, playful behaviour of horses — kicking, nudging, and jostling each other. To 'horse around' is to play roughly or act in a silly, boisterous way. |
| Eager beaver | idiom | Beavers are famous for their relentless dam-building — they work constantly without pause. An 'eager beaver' is someone almost comically enthusiastic about a task, often seen as overly keen. |
| Monkey see, monkey do | idiom | Directly observed from primatology — monkeys famously copy each other's actions as a primary learning method. Used to describe people who mindlessly imitate others without thinking for themselves. |
| Owl | etymology | Old English ūle, of Germanic origin — an imitative word mimicking the bird's call. Its association with wisdom traces back to ancient Greece, where the owl was the symbol of Athena, goddess of wisdom. |
| Chameleon | etymology | From Greek khamailēōn — khamai (on the ground) + leōn (lion) — literally 'ground lion'. Used metaphorically for a person who adapts their personality entirely to their surroundings. |
| Peacock | etymology | From Old English pēa (from Latin pāvō) + coc (cock/bird). The male's elaborate fan of feathers, displayed to attract females, made it the definitive symbol of vanity and showing off. |