C
CAMEL
strain at gnats and swallow camels
To criticize other people for minor offences while ignoring major offenses. Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries)
plain as the hump on a camel
obvious Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
straw that broke the camel's back
The thing to push you over the edge.
CANARY
have a canary
Brit. informal. to react with disapproval, anxiety. etc Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
look like the cat who swallowed the canary
To look proud of ones self. Source: Dianna Ly
CAT
cat's meow
The top of the line Source: Cliche Finder
play cat and mouse
to play with a person or animal in a cruel or teasing way. esp before a final act of cruelty or unkindness Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
fraidy cat or scaredy cat
a person who is afraid, a coward Source: Wayne Magnuson
grin like a Cheshire cat
to have a big smile because of something you're really happy you did
Source: funbrain.com
a bag of cats
Irish informal. a bad-tempered person: she's a real bag of cats this morning. Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
not a cat in hell's chance
no chance at all Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
like herding cats
Futile. Source: Arius Kaufmann
fight like Kilkenny cats
to fight until both parties are destroyed Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
conceited as a barbers cat
very conceited Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
she's a cool cat
She is unflappable. Source: Paulina Tegelund
high as the hair on a cat's back
very expensive Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
as much chance as a wax cat in hell
no chance at all Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
weak as a cat
very weak Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
dead cat on the line
for something to be wrong Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
sitting in a cat bird seat
A person is "sitting pretty" or in a "favored position." This saying was popularized, at least, in these here parts [Texas], by a short story entitled "Catbird Seat," which was written by the well-known American writer of humorous fiction--James Thurber. Thurber, of "Walter Mitty " fame, gives credit to Red Barber--the down--home Southern baseball sports announcer for this rural idiom to the mainstream American public. According to Thurber, the phrase means: being in an advantageous position. Source: Wheepie@aol.com
cat calls
"I'm from a neighborhood with a tremendous amount of wild or at least free-roaming cats. Often, in the middle of an early spring or summer night i would be awakened by the calls of cat's in mating. Each time, one of the sounds I heard was similar to the "wit-woo" sound associated with the cat-call whistle. Perhaps people adopted that sound, changed it to a whistle, and associated it with seeing an attractive woman, thus calling the sound these men made, cat calls." Source: Michelle Tracey
fat cat
A person high up in the business world with a lot of money. Source: Cliche Finder
A cat can look at a king
No one is so important that an ordinary person cannot look at him or her. Everyone can be curious about important people. Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries)
do it in a cat's paw
Do something in a way that no one knows it is you doing it.
to let the cat out of the bag
Telling something which has been a secret. Source: Funk, Charles
copycat
Some one who mimics some one else. Source: Cassie
catnap
A mid-day nap.
alley cat
Any homeless or stray cat. By extension -- a prostitute. Source: Funk, Charles
look what the cat dragged in
A humorously derogatory comment on someone's arrival. Source: Turner, Martin
looks like something the cat brought in
to appear disheveled or bedraggled. Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
cat's pajamas
All that and a bag of chips. Source: Cliche Finder
curiosity killed the cat
Warning about being curious. Source: Cliche Finder
a cat has nine lives
Cats can survive things that are severe enough to kill them. Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries)
a cat in gloves catches no mice
Sometimes you cannot get what you want by being careful and polite. Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries)
all cats are gray in the dark
In the dark, appearances are meaningless. Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries)
nervous as a cat in a room full of rocking chairs
Nervous Source: Cliche Finder
like a cat on a hot tin roof
Agitated. Source: Turner, Martin
like a cat on hot bricks
in an uneasy or agitated state. Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
cat got your tongue
Unable to speak.
put, set, etc., {the cat among the pigeons}
to introduce some violently disturbing new element Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
keep no more cats then will catch mice
Do not support anyone who does not or cannot do something useful for you in return. Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries)
let the cat out of the bag
To tell a secret -- normally accidentally. Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries)
not enough room to swing a cat
Very little room. Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries)
raining cats and dogs
It is raining very hard.
more then one way to skin a cat
There is more then one way to do something.
when the cat's away, the mice will play
Without supervision, people misbehave.
look like the cat who swallowed the canary
To look proud of ones self. Source: Dianna Ly
doesn't have enough sense to bell a cat
acts foolishly Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
dog my cats
my goodness; what do you know Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
like cat and dog
quarrelling savagely Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
CATTLE (AND CALF)
all hat and no cattle
all form and no substance Source: Cantu, Larry: reference made to John Connally by
Lyndon Johnson
calf slobber
meringue Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
don't rush cattle
do not hurry Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
to kill the fatted calf
to rejoice (I don't think the calf is rejoicing though) Source: funbrain.com
CHICKEN
don't count your chickens before they are hatched
Don't assume you have something until you really have it.
chicken in every pot
enough food for every family Source: Wayne Magnuson
chicken
Informal. any of various, often dangerous, games or challenges in which the object is to make one's opponent lose his nerve. Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
chicken out
back out from fear or lose one's nerve
Source: funbrain.com
have a chicken to pick with someone
to have something to argue about with someone Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
like a chicken with its head cut off
in a wild, crazy manner
Source: funbrain.com
chicken
a cowardly person Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
chicken
Slang. a young inexperienced person Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
the chickens come home to roost
You have to face the consequences of your mistakes or bad deeds. Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries)
no spring chicken
old
If it ain't chicken, it's feathers.
There is always a problem. Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
scarce as chicken's teeth
There is always a problem. Source: Dog Hause Visitor Janee Cake
chicken feed
Very little (or low in value.)
CHUCHMOUSE
poor as a church mouse
Very Poor. This saying likely arose from some folk tale relating the sad experience of a mouse trying to find food for itself and its starving little ones in a church. No pantry, no meal bag, no grain bin made the struggle for existence most difficult. Source: Funk, Charles
CLAM
as happy as a clam
"Happy as a Clam" is not the original quote. It has been shortened. Why is a Clam particularly happy? The original quote was "Happy as a Clam in High Tide". Which of course is when the clam is the safest. Source: Nick Porreco
clam up
Informal. to keep or become silent or withhold information Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
COCK
cock-and-bull story
untrue story Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
COLT
brush colt
an illegitimate child Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
COW
why buy a cow when you can get the milk for free
Why pay for something that you can get for free otherwise. Source: Bertram, Anne (Bowl of Cherries)
steep as a cow's face
extremely steep Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
holy cow
that is exciting, geez, gosh, wow Source: Wayne Magnuson
big enough to choke a cow
very big Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
cow juice
milk Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
dark as the inside of a cow's belly
very dark Source: Bertram, Anne (Pig's Eye)
cash cow
Someone or something that has a ton of cash and supports someone else with it--a business' big clients would be called cash cows. Source: Phil McNeill
tune the old cow died of
Any tune which has been played ad nauseam. Source: Funk, Charles
a sacred cow
Personal possession cherished by its owner or a person or thing immune to criticism or questioning Source: Funk, Charles and funbrain.com
don't have a cow, man
Don't get hysterically mad. Source: The Simpsons – the cartoon
How now, Brown Cow?
what next, or what's going on Source: Kitanga
till the cows come home
late hours or for a long time Source: Funk, Charles and funbrain.com
CRAW
to stick in your craw
describes a problem that is annoying and/or won't go away refers to a bird's craw (gullet), in which food is ground by sand eaten for this purpose
Source: indiana.edu
CROCODILE
crocodile tears
Fake tears. This expression comes from a story that a crocodile moans and sobs like a person in great distress in order to lure a man into its reach, and then after devouring him sheds bitter tears over the dire fate of its victim. Source: Funk, Charles
CROW
as the crow flies
From point A to point B directly.
eating crow
Taking back your words.
stone the crows
Brit. and Austral. slang. an expression of surprise, dismay, etc Source: wordreference.com, The Collins English Dictionary
