This chapter discusses various idioms related to animals, such as 'eager beavers', 'can of worms', 'curiosity killed the cat', 'let sleeping dogs lie', 'bark is worse than his bite', 'slippery as a snake', 'everything's fishy', 'had a cow', 'clam up', 'solid resume', 'clued in', 'bear market', and 'one trick pony'. The meanings and usage of these idioms in different contexts are explained, emphasizing their colloquial usage in everyday conversation. Practice exercises are included for reinforcement.
Like all our lessons, this one is focused on language that you can use at work and in business. When you work like a dog, you can’t waste your time learning expressions you’ll never use. And when it comes to idioms, you should focus on the ones that are commonly used and widely understood. Like the one I just used: “to work like a dog.”
In fact, there’s a ton of idioms in English that mention animals, especially dogs. That’s probably because so many of us keep them as pets. But we’ve got idioms about cats, horses, snakes, fish, cows, bears and countless other animals. And learning these idioms can add to your language toolbox and make you sound more natural. Besides, a well-placed idiom can add a lot of impact to a sentence.
In this lesson, we’ll listen to a conversation between Dylan, Ruby, and Kyle – three colleagues in a large corporation. They’re talking about the Chief Investment Officer position in their company. They discuss the former person in the role, people who applied for the job, and the person who got it. In their conversation they use many idioms related to animals. See if you can spot some of these, and we’ll explain them later in the debrief.
Listening Questions
1. How does Ruby describe Greg, the person in finance who applied for the Chief Investment Officer job?
2. How does Dylan describe Brett, the former Chief Investment Officer?
3. What expression does Ruby use to describe the current challenging market?
