Episode 79: 6 Animal Idioms Native English Speakers Actually Use

[00:00:00] Welcome to English, please, the podcast where we explore interesting topics in under 10 minutes in clear, intermediate English. I’m your host, Christopher. I live in New York City, and I’ve always been passionate about languages and how we learn them. Whether you’re listening on your way to work or while cooking dinner at home, this show is designed to help you with your English listening and comprehension skills.

“Oh no, I just let the cat out of the bag.” If a native English speaker says this at dinner, don’t look for a cat or a bag because there’s no cat, and there’s no bag. But everyone at the table knows exactly what happened. The person just told a [00:01:00] secret he wasn’t supposed to tell.

Animals are everywhere in English. In this episode, we’ll look at six animal idioms that you’ll hear English speakers use at work, with friends, and in normal conversations. For each one, you’ll learn what it means, who says it, and how it works in a real sentence. And for a few of them, we’ll look at how other languages describe the same idea, sometimes with a completely different animal.

Okay, let’s go!

Number one: hold your horses. This means wait or slow down. You say it when someone is moving too fast or getting excited too early. Here’s how it sounds in a real conversation: “I found the perfect apartment. I’m calling [00:02:00] the landlord right now.” “Hold your horses. You haven’t even seen the kitchen.” This idiom is friendly and a little playful. It’s also old-fashioned, so it sounds like something a grandparent might say. With a boss or a client, it can sound too casual, so save it for friends and family. And even then, you’ll probably hear it more than you’ll use it

Number two: let the cat out of the bag. You heard this one at the beginning. It means to tell a secret, usually by accident. People often say it about themselves, feeling a little bad. “Oops, I think I let the cat out of the bag.” But sometimes people use it on purpose when they’re finally ready to share big news. “Okay, I’m going to let the cat out of the bag. We’re having a baby.” [00:03:00] So this idiom is really about the moment a secret becomes public.

Number three: the elephant in the room. This is a big, obvious problem that everyone can see, but nobody wants to talk about. For example, a group of friends is planning a vacation together. Everyone is excited about the beach and the restaurants, but nobody mentions that the trip costs much more than most of them can pay. Finally, someone says, “Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room. This trip is too expensive.” Suddenly, everyone relaxes, and they begin planning a cheaper trip. You’ll hear this one a lot at work, but it’s just as useful with friends and family. The person who says it is being brave because they’re the first one to talk about the [00:04:00] problem

Number four: chicken out. In English, if you call someone a chicken, you’re saying they’re scared. So “to chicken out” means you decide not to do something because you’re afraid. “I had a job interview on Monday, but I chickened out.” Friends also use this idiom to joke with each other in a friendly way. If you’re about to jump into a cold lake and you stop, your friends might laugh and say, “Don’t chicken out now.” It’s casual, so you’ll hear it much more with friends than in a professional situation.

I’ve been learning French for years, and idioms are still some of my favorite things to learn. When a French friend first told me she had a cat in her throat, I smiled. A cat? In English, it’s a [00:05:00] frog. But to her, the English version was the strange one. And that’s what I love about idioms. Every language thinks its own version makes perfect sense.

So number five: a frog in your throat. This means your voice doesn’t sound clear and you need to cough a little to fix it. You often hear it at the start of a phone call or a presentation. “Excuse me, I have a frog in my throat.” If you speak German, this will feel familiar because German also puts a frog there. But in French, as I mentioned, it’s a cat. It’s the same throat, but a different animal.

Number six: kill two birds with one stone. This means you finish two tasks with one action. For example: “The post office is right next to my gym. So tomorrow I’ll mail my [00:06:00] package and then I’ll work out. That kills two birds with one stone.” In German, the birds become flies. In French, the birds disappear completely. There’s just one stone doing two jobs. The idea is the same, but every language paints its own picture.

Before we finish, many English textbooks teach “it’s raining cats and dogs,” which means it’s raining very hard. It’s a real idiom, and you’ll see it in books, but in my experience, most English speakers rarely say it today. When it’s raining hard, we usually just say “it’s pouring.” So it’s good to understand, but you don’t need to use it.

Now, I have a question for you. What should we talk about next? In this week’s newsletter, I’m asking you to help choose a future episode. Just reply to the email with your idea in [00:07:00] English, and I’ll write back with a quick note on your writing. If you’re not a newsletter subscriber yet, you can join for free at englishpleasepod.com/free. You’ll also get my guide with 25 more idioms that native speakers use every day.

Here’s the hard part about idioms. You can learn what “hold your horses” means, but in real conversation, it can be a listening problem, and listening is exactly what my English Listening Accelerator helps you practice. It’s a workbook with audio with 10 lessons that train your ear for natural, spoken English. You can try a free lesson at englishpleasepod.com/learn, and the full workbook is only $7.

It’s also the best way to support this podcast.

Again, I’m Christopher, and I want to invite you to join me in future episodes of English, please to [00:08:00] hear about a variety of topics, all focused on helping you with your English. Subscribe now wherever you listen to podcasts, and let’s continue this adventure together in clear, understandable English.

Sincere thanks, as always, for listening.

See you soon!