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Идиомы о животных

• 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.
• 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.
• tail wagging the dog
  ситуация, когда кто-либо незначительный держит всё под контролем

  Jim is just a minor employee in the firm, yet he tries to give everyone orders; I think it's a case of the tail wagging the dog.
• as busy as a beaver
  быть очень занятым

  Paul seems to be as busy as a beaver all the time.
• rat race
  жизнь, как бесконечная гонка и отчаянная борьба за успех; "крысиные бега"

  Working and living in a big city is too much of a rat race that's why Sandra is not satisfied with her life in New-York.
• as dead as a dodo
  мёртвый (как вымершая птица дронт)

  A car hit a cat, and it was as dead as a dodo after the accident.
• as nervous as a cat
  очень нервный

  The woman was as nervous as a cat when she talked to the bank manager.
• as weak as a kitten
  очень слабый, тщедушный

  Anne recovered from her illness but was as weak as a kitten.
• you can't teach an old dog new tricks
  в старости поздно учиться или переучиваться

  "You'll never teach your grandfather how to do his income tax on a personal computer. You can't teach an old dog new tricks."
• when the cat's away, the mice will play
  без кота мышам раздолье

  When the mother left the room, the children began to make a lot of noise. When the cat's away, the mice will play.
• as crooked as a dog's hind leg
  нечестный, бессовестный

  I dislike Jeremy Stuart; he turned out to be as crooked as a dog's hind leg.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• white elephant
  пустая трата денег, обременительное имущество

  That big house of theirs seems to be a white elephant; it isn't worth its keep.
• 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.
• as gentle as a lamb
  нежный, ласковый

  Marion is as gentle as a lamb when she is with her baby daughter.
• as poor as a church mouse
  бедный как церковная мышь

  Cathy can't afford a new car; she is as poor as a church mouse.
• horse of a different color
  что-то совсем другое, отличное от чего-либо

  I don't think much of this show. It is a horse of a different color. I liked the previous one much better.
• 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.
• fraidy-cat
  трусишка

  My little son is a fraidy-cat; he is so easily frightened.
• smell a rat
  заподозрить, почуять неладное

  When Clara didn't come back with my money, I began to smell a rat.
• make a mountain out of a molehill
  преувеличивать значимость чего-либо, "делать из мухи слона"

  "Don't make a mountain out of a molehill. I am sure you exaggerate the seriousness of your problem."
• have a frog in one's throat
  охрипнуть, говорить с трудом

  I am a very shy person and I always have a frog in my throat when I have to make a speech.
• 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.
• as proud as a peacock
  очень гордый

  Ms. Bobtail's son was a good musician, and she was as proud as a peacock of him.
• fish in troubled waters
  стараться получить что-либо (выгоду, информацию) нечестным путём; "ловить рыбку в мутной воде"

  I hate people fishing in troubled waters in order to gather information.
• open up a can of worms
  создать ненужные осложнения или проблемы

  Wanda didn't want to create unnecessary complications; she decided not to open up a can of worms.
• scaredy-cat
  трусишка

  The children call Vera a scaredy-cat because she is easily frightened.
• put the cart before the horse
  начать не с того конца, поступать шиворот-навыворот, "поставить телегу впереди лошади"

  They put the cart before the horse and took the effect for the cause.
• lovely weather for ducks
  дождливая погода

  "Lovely weather for ducks," I thought, walking to my car in the rain.
• back the wrong horse
  делать ставку не на того (человека)

  In voting for Senator Plush, voters in 1992 were backing the wrong horse.
• keep the wolf from the door
  едва сводить концы с концами, жить очень скромно

  Her salary was so small that she could hardly keep the wolf from the door.
• get (someone's) goat
  раздражать кого-либо

  My husband is very unpunctual, and it gets my goat.
• as hungry as a bear
  голодный как волк

  I was as hungry as a bear that afternoon, and I told my mother that I could eat a horse.