# Animal Idioms Advanced

https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/idioms-expressions-c1-animal-idioms-vocab

- CEFR: C1 (Advanced)
- Theme: Idioms & Expressions
- Words: 20
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- Locked: no

Animal idioms for describing character and setbacks, with phrases like a snake in the grass, a bull in a china shop and a fly in the ointment.

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## Word list

* **a snake in the grass**: A deceitful person who seems trustworthy but is secretly working against you. — “He smiled to my face, but he was really **a snake in the grass**.”
* **a bull in a china shop**: A careless person who causes damage or upset while handling a delicate situation. — “He handled the negotiations like **a bull in a china shop**, offending everyone.”
* **get someone's goat**: To annoy or irritate someone. — “His constant tapping on the desk really **gets my goat**.”
* **till the cows come home**: For a very long and indefinite period of time. — “You can argue about it **till the cows come home**, but I won't change my mind.”
* **a dog-eat-dog world**: A highly competitive environment where people act ruthlessly to succeed. — “The fashion industry can be **a dog-eat-dog world**.”
* **go the way of the dodo**: To disappear completely and become obsolete, like something no longer used. — “Fax machines have largely **gone the way of the dodo**.”
* **flog a dead horse**: To waste effort continuing to argue for or work on something that has no chance of succeeding. — “Trying to convince him again would just be **flogging a dead horse**.”
* **kill the goose that lays the golden eggs**: To destroy something valuable because you want a quick, short-term gain. — “Firing your best staff to save money is **killing the goose that lays the golden eggs**.”
* **the tail wagging the dog**: A small or unimportant part of something controlling the whole thing, the wrong way round. — “Letting one intern set company policy is **the tail wagging the dog**.”
* **put the cart before the horse**: To do things in the wrong order, so a later step happens before the necessary first step. — “Buying furniture before signing the lease is **putting the cart before the horse**.”
* **a canary in the coal mine**: An early warning that something is going badly wrong. — “Falling insect numbers are **a canary in the coal mine** for the whole system.”
* **a fly in the ointment**: One small thing that spoils something otherwise good. — “The only **a fly in the ointment** is the parking.”
* **an albatross around your neck**: A burden you cannot get rid of. — “The second property became **an albatross around your neck** within a year.”
* **a stalking horse**: Something used to hide the real intention behind an action. — “The consultation was **a stalking horse** for closing the site.”
* **cat got your tongue**: Said to someone who is unexpectedly silent. — “Nothing to add? **Cat got your tongue** all of a sudden?”
* **the tail end of things**: The last and least important part of something. — “He arrived for **the tail end of things** and claimed the credit.”
* **a wolf at the door**: The threat of serious poverty. — “Two missed invoices and there was **a wolf at the door**.”
* **like rats leaving a sinking ship**: Abandoning something as soon as it starts to fail. — “The senior staff went **like rats leaving a sinking ship**.”
* **a herd mentality**: The tendency to do what everyone else is doing. — “The whole market moved on **a herd mentality** and nothing else.”
* **the runt of the litter**: The smallest and weakest of a group. — “The branch was always **the runt of the litter** and closed first.”

## Related

- Vocabulary library: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary
- Section guide: https://hienglishquiz.com/vocabulary/llms.txt