有动物的惯用语（1）：和中文一样，英语有不少惯用语与动物有关。
下面便是些好例子：（1） An eager beaver(海狸)：做事特别卖力的人Every year during the long holidays in June and December, many people go abroad for a tour except Jason, an eager beaver, who will at most take a few days off in Singapore.（2） A busy bee：忙碌的人There isn't much to do today, but Nancy has been rushing here and there like a busy bee.（3） Have a bee in one's bonnet(童帽, 女帽)about…… : 对……苦思不已As a low-income bread-earner, Ali has a bee in his bonnet about increasing his monthly income.（4） Make a bee-line for ……：径直朝向……After class, student rushed out of classroom, making a bee-line for the nearest canteen.（5） An early bird：早起的人Morning walk at six? No problem ! I'm an early bird, you know.（6） A home bird：爱在家里的人Jason's youngest son doesn't care for social life; he is a home bird through and through.（7） A bird's-eye, view of……：鸟瞰；概观（i） From the plane, we can have a bird's eye view of the Singapore buildings.（ii） Jason's new book can give the reader a bird's eye view of elements of good English.（8） A cat nap：瞌睡Between lunch and the 2 p.m. class, there is at least half an hour for a cat nap.（9） Lead a cat-and-dog life：过着吵吵闹闹的日子Poor couples often lead a cat-and-dog life because of financial problems. Don't you think so?（10） Let the cat out of the bag：泄露秘密David was planning a surprise birthday party for Irene, but his new secretary let the cat out of the bag in a casual talk.（11） There is not enough room to swing a cat：没有活动的余地How can you live and do your design work in such a small room? There isn't enough room to swing a cat, is there?（12） Rain cats and dogs：倾盆大雨We can't go out yet. It is raining cats and dogs at the moment.（13） No chicken：不再是小孩Don't treat Lily like a kid! She is no chicken now.（14） A cock-and-bull story：无稽之谈Whenever Tom was late for work, he would tell a cock-and-bull story as an excuse.（15） Wait till the cows come home: 无限期的等待Don't lend him money. If you want him to pay back, you have to wait till the cows come home.（16） Crocodile tears：鳄鱼泪Jane seemed very sad at the old man's death. Actually, she was only shedding crocodile tears because she never really liked that old man.有动物的惯用语（2）：（1） Top dog：处支配地位者In the present world, why should a country, often a super power, sometimes act as top dog over other countries?（2） Go to the dogs：堕落；（经济）衰退No matter a business or a country, if it is not properly managed, it is sure to go to the dogs one day.（3） Do the donkey work：呆板的例常工作Jack is not a person to work with. He will just sit back(袖手旁观)and let you do the donkey work.（4） A sitting duck：容易被打击的对象Out in the open, the hunter is a sitting duck for unseen wild animals.（5） A cold fish：冷漠无情的人Among the guests at the same table was Dr Wee's wife, who looked unfeeling and was a real cold fish to me .（6） A fish out of water：如鱼离水；不适应Qi never likes to go to a party, without friends, as he will feel like a fish out of water there.（7） Have other fish to fry：另有更重要的事要干As I had other fish to fry yesterday, I was forced to decline David's invitation to a dinner.（8） There are plenty more fish in the sea：可供选择的人或事还很多Since Andrew had gone off with another girl friend, Laura couldn't care less, knowing that there were plenty more fish in the sea.（9） Cannot say boo（嘘声）to goose：羞怯When foreign students first came here, they could not say boo to a goose, but there is now no shortage of eloquent（雄辩的, 有口才的,流利的）speakers and outspoken (直言的;坦率的)thinkers.（10） A wild-goose chase：徒劳的搜索To look for a pin in the sea? Isn't it tantamount（等于;相似）to a wild-goose chase?（11） A guinea pig：被当实验的人或物Whenever there is a research or something innovative, someone or something will be used as a guinea pig.（12） Back the wrong horse：支持失败的一方Many spectators backed the wrong horse by favoring the British team, which lost to the German team.（13） A dark horse：实力难测的竞争者No one expected Jimmy to win, but he did win. He was a dark horse.（14） Change horses in mid-stream：半途改变主张，或支持另一方If you support a person, do so from the beginning to the end; don't change horses in mid-stream.（15） The lion's share of……：最大最好的部分When the old man died, the eldest son took the lion's share of the inheritance.（16） The rat race：激烈的竞争In the rat race of today's world, only the fittest survives.（17） A snake in the grass：潜伏的敌人There has often been something suspicious about William's behavior and he has really turned out to be a snake in the grass.。