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Идиомы о животных

• bright-eyed and bushy-tailed
  (быть) очень весёлым, полным радости

  The kids are bright-eyed and bushy-tailed because their mother has promised to take them to the zoo.
• bug (someone)
  донимать кого-либо, раздражать

  That man really bugs me with his silly jokes.
• bug-eyed
  широко открыть глаза (от удивления)

  I was bug-eyed when I saw Sara whom I didn't expect to see in my house.
• bull in a china shop
  слон в посудной лавке (о неловком или бестактном человеке)

  My boy friend is like a bull in a china shop; he is not only very clumsy, but he is also tactless.
• buy a pig in a poke
  купить кота в мешке

  You can buy a second-hand car, but it will be like buying a pig in a poke if you do not look at it properly first.
• by shank's mare
  пешком, "на своих двоих"

  My car got broken, so I had to come to work by shank's mare.
• call the dogs off
  прекратить преследование или угрозы

  I told Jack to call the dogs off and stop waylaying me otherwise I would go to the police.
• cash cow
  что-либо приносящее хороший доход, "дойная корова"

  The cafe my mother opened not long ago turned out to be a cash cow; it is very profitable.
• cast pearls before swine
  попусту тратить усилия на кого-либо, "метать бисер перед свиньями"

  I am not going to waste good advice on Leda any more because she never listens to it. I won't cast pearls before swine.
• cat gets one's tongue
  быть не в состоянии что-либо сказать "язык проглотил"

  The cat got the boy's tongue when the teacher asked him about his homework.
• cat nap
  короткий сон днём

  "I am going to take a cat nap in the afternoon, so don't disturb me."
• cat on a hot tin roof
  (быть) полным кипучей деятельности, (скакать, как кот на горячей крыше)

  Little Kate was jumping around like a cat on a hot tin roof and her mother could not make her behave.
• champ/chomp at the bit
  быть в нетерпении (что-либо делать)

  The children were chomping at the bit to go to the Field Museum.
• change horses in midstream
  производить крупные перемены в неподходящий момент, "коней на переправе не меняют"

  Jim has decided to change his coach before the match, but I told him he'd better not change horses in midstream.
• chicken and egg situation
  ситуация, при которой не ясно, где причина, а где следствие

  It was a chicken and egg situation; I didn't quite understand what caused problems with the computer.
• chicken feed
  небольшая сумма денег

  "What you are giving me is chicken feed. I need a lot more money."
• chicken out of (doing something)
  струсить, не сделать что-либо из-за страха

  Sarah chickened out of skiing in the mountains.
• chicken-livered
  трусливый, малодушный

  Mark is chicken-livered; he is easily scared.
• chickens come home to roost
  беда бедою отзовётся (то плохое, что желаете другому, вернётся к вам)

  Margaret's chickens have come home to roost, and she has to take responsibility for what she has done.
• clam up
  замолчать

  Evidently they were talking about me as they clammed up when I appeared.
• clip (someone's) wings
  ограничивать или сдерживать кого-либо, "подрезать крылья"

  The company decided to clip the manager's wings and took away his expense account.
• cock of the walk
  важная персона, хозяин положения (употребляется иронично)

  John thinks that he is cock of the walk and that everyone must do what he wants.
• cock-and-bull story
  неправдоподобная история, небылица

  The man gave the police a cock-and-bull story about how his car had been stolen.
• cold fish
  бесчувственный человек "холодный как рыба"

  Jack Brown turned out to be a cold fish; he didn't care much about his parents.
• cold turkey
  резкое прекращение употребления наркотиков

  Collin must have stopped using drugs cold turkey because he looks very sick.
• cook (someone's) goose
  подпортить, погубить свою репутацию

  Pat cooked her goose, and now she has no opportunity of getting good education.
• copycat
  ученик, списывающий работу у другого; подражатель

  Alfred is only a copycat; he hasn't created anything of real value.
• count one's chickens before they're hatched
  делать преждевременные выводы, "цыплят по осени считают"

  "You'd better not count your chickens before they're hatched. After all you haven't got that job yet."
• cry wolf
  поднять ложную тревогу

  David needn't have cried wolf; there was no real danger of fire in the house.
• cry/shed crocodile tears
  лить крокодиловы слёзы

  When William complained about his problems, he shed crocodile tears, but nobody believed him.
• curiosity killed the cat
  любопытство убило кошку (говорят о любопытном человеке)

  "Curiosity killed the cat," Leila's mother said, when she saw Leila hunting around in closets just before Christmas.
• dark horse
  малоизвестный кандидат

  It happens so that a dark horse candidate may get elected senator.
• dead duck
  конченный (человек ) или вышедшая из употребления вещь

  My television set is very old; it is in a hopeless situation, in fact it's a dead duck.
• dog and pony show
  представление лишь для того, чтобы произвести впечатление (как в цирке)

  I asked a few questions about the project, but all I got was a dog and pony show.
• dog in the manger
  собака на сене (о человеке, не желающим делать что-либо и мешающим другим)

  Agatha lived alone in that big house, but she didn't let her relatives share it with her; she was like a dog in the manger.