# Animal idioms

Idioms and sayings drawn from the animal world — cats, dogs, horses, birds, and beasts — many of which Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) records as folk metaphors with ancient roots.

## About this category

Idioms and sayings drawn from the animal world — cats, dogs, horses, birds, and beasts — many of which Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) records as folk metaphors with ancient roots. Each entry below gives the plain meaning, an origin note honestly attributed to Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) or marked as uncertain, and a usage example.

## Questions

### Where do the origins for animal idioms come from?

Origins on this page are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898). Where the origin is disputed or unknown, the entry says so plainly.

### Are these idioms still in modern use?

Most are in everyday English; a few are chiefly literary or old-fashioned, and those are flagged in the usage notes.

## Sources

- [Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898) — Internet Archive scan](https://archive.org/details/brewers-dictionary-of-phrase-and-fable)

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