What does it mean when we ‘eat crow’?
To eat crow is a phrase, or an idiom, used sometimes in conversation.
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Category Animal Phrases
Pony Express
What does pony express mean?
The original Pony Express doesn’t exist any more, but the phrase is still used.
The Pony Express was an American express (fast) mail delivery service, using horse riders, instead of stagecoaches.
The service was used for 18 months in 1860 and 1861 between the east and west coast of America. It was fast, reducing the delivery time from months down to 10 days. The fastest delivery from to Fort Kearny in Nebraska to California was only 7 days and 17 hours.
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Happy as a Clam
Happy as a clam is a colloquial expression – a simile to describe a happy person. If a person is said to be ‘as happy as a clam at high water’ it means that they are content and satisfied.
What is the origin of this expression? The website The Phrase Finder believes that it may have originated in America in 1833 in the book The Harpe’s Head – A Legend of Kentucky – “It never occurred to him to be discontented … He was as happy as a clam.” General Robert E Lee used the phrase too in the 1830s.
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You Are What You Eat: Why the Flamingo is Pink
People often say “You are what you eat.” What does this phrase mean? It means that the food you eat makes a difference to your health. The phrase began in 1826 when French lawyer Anthelme Brillat-Savarin wrote it, but it became more popular in America from 1923 when it appeared in the Bridgeport Telegraph newspaper.
The phrase is generally not used for animals. However, for the Flamingo it is true, and that is why the Flamingo is pink.
The Flamingo has orange-pink feathers. The orange-pink colour comes from the food it eats.
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Eagle-Eyed
What does it mean if someone is eagle-eyed?
The Wedge-Tailed Eagle (Aquila audax) from Australia, for example, can see objects further away than a human can.
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Like Water Off a Duck’s Back
What does it mean when people say that something is like water off a duck’s back??
A duck has water resistant or waterproof feathers. The drops of water roll off a duck’s back.
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Knuckle Down
What does it mean to knuckle down?
The knuckle is part of the back of the hands. The knuckles are the lumps at the base of the fingers.
All apes, such as the chimpanzee, gorilla and orangutan, walk on their knuckles. An ape is a primate mammal without a tail.
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Scruff of the Neck
What does it mean when someone takes something by the scruff of the neck?
The scruff of the neck is the nape—the back part of the neck.
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Elephant in the Room
Continue reading “Elephant in the Room”What does it mean when people say that there is an elephant in the room?
If there is an elephant in the room it means that an important, big, and obvious topic, which everyone knows about and can see, is not being discussed.
People are not discussing the topic because it makes them uncomfortable or it is controversial.
Spread-eagle
What does spread-eagle mean?
Spread-eagle means to stretch with arms and legs straight out (extended). It means to lie flat.
Stuffing your cheeks
What does it mean if you are stuffing your cheeks?
To stuff your cheeks is to put too much food in your mouth at one time.
Some animals, such as Hamadryas Baboons, have large cheeks and can store a lot of food in their mouth. Hamsters and Gophers have pockets in their cheeks to store nuts.
Coming up for air
What does it mean if you are coming up for air?
Coming up for air means to take a breather, to have a rest, or to take a break.
Fish have gills, so they do not need to come to the surface of the water to breathe. But many animals that live in and near water have lungs and they must come to the surface of water to breathe.
Therefore, when animals are coming up for air, they are taking a breath.
Birds of a feather flock together
Birds of a feather flock together – what does it mean?
Birds of the same species live together in flocks or groups. In other words, birds with similar feathers (the same species) group together to live and feed.
To grab the bull by the horns
To grab the bull by the horns – what does it mean?
To grab the bull by the horns means to approach a problem directly, with no fear. You approach a problem with confidence and deal with it.
Chew the cud
What does chew the cud mean?
To chew the cud means to chew something over and over again.
For humans, it means to think about something over and over again, or to meditate on something – and in the end, the result is a decision or an answer to a problem.
Tiger’s Eye
What is a tiger’s eye?
Tiger’s eye is a golden-brown chatoyant gemstone, made from a metamorphic quartz rock. Chatoyant is a band of bright glow caused by reflections.
A real tiger’s eye is round with yellow or pale irises. The gemstone is named after the colour of a tiger’s fur, and its eye. The gemstone is said to have a protective, watchful-eye energy.
A leopard can’t change its spots
What does it mean when people say that a leopard can’t change its spots?
It means that people cannot change their character. They cannot change who they really are.
You have a hide!
You’ve got a hide! What does it mean if you have a hide?
Hide is the tough, leathery skin of some animals that is, or was, used by humans, such as the skin of rhinoceros, cattle, alligators, crocodiles, and so on.
If you have a hide, you have tough skin. You are not easily offended and not easily upset. You are not upset by criticism. You are tough.
On the prowl
What does on the prowl mean?
If an animal is on the prowl, it is hunting, looking for food – quietly and stealthily, focusing only on its prey.
If a person is on the prowl, the person is quietly, but intently, looking for something.
Like a pig in mud
What does it mean if someone says you are like a pig in mud?
If you are like a pig in mud, it means that you are happy and enjoying yourself.