Idioms with animals: Donkey, Lion, Monkey, Bee, Turkey and more!

Recursos para estudiantes de inglés de todos los niveles, profesores y traductores. Para aprender o mejorar tu inglés en forma divertida.

English Vocabulary - Vocabulario de inglés

IDIOMS WITH ANIMALS

¿Qué es un idiom?
Un "idiom" o "idiomatic expression" es una frase idiomática utilizada en lenguaje coloquial informal.

En general, el significado de la frase en sí es diferente al significado normal de cada palabra por separado. Por ejemplo, "to let the cat out of the bag" significa "revelar un secreto". Si traducimos palabra por palabra, sería "dejar salir al gato de la bolsa", lo cual es incorrecto.

La dificultad para los estudiantes de inglés radica en que no pueden traducirse literalmente y deben aprenderse de memoria, aunque en algunos casos existen equivalentes muy similares en el idioma español.

Lee las explicaciones y luego realiza el ejercicio.

Idioms with Other Animals Burro

donkey's years = a very long time
donkey-work = the hard part of a job
to talk the hind legs off a donkey = to talk a lot
a scapegoat = chivo expiatorio
a red herring = something that attracts people's attention
to have a frog in one's throat = to have a phlem
to have seen the lions = to have a lot of experience, to have seen everything
the lion's share = the biggest part of something
to come out of one's shell = to become less shy
to learn/say something parrot-fashion = to learn/say sth by heart, from memory
a white elephant = possession that is useless and expensive to maintain
to be a busy bee = to enjoy being busy or active
to have a bee in one's bonnet (about something) = to be obsessed, mad with something
to have bats in the belfry = to be eccentric or insane
monkey business/tricks = dishonest or bad behaviour
brass monkey weather = very cold weather
to make a monkey out of somebody = to make somebody look stupid
to have ants in one's pants = to be very restless
to be a bookworm = to like reading; ser un ratón de biblioteca
to be mad as a March hare = to be completely mad
to be packed like sardines = estar como sardinas enlatadas
to shed crocodile tears = llorar lágrimas de cocodrilo
to be like a bear with a sore head = to be rude, in a bad mood
to be eagle-eyed = to be very good at seeing or noticing things
to talk turkey = to talk frankly, discuss a problem in a serious way

We thank Marcela Bitetto (from Buenos Aires, Argentina), Norma (from Bernal, Argentina), Mónica Latorre (from Buenos Aires, Argentina) and Domingo Romero (from Madrid, Spain) for their suggestions.

Exercise

Choose the right answer.

1. I can't stop working and I love it! I guess I'm .

2. Sarah and Selma can talk for hours! They .

3. I have had this jacket for .

4. When this theatre first opened in 1845, it was regarded as .

5. Our five-year-old son can't stop moving. He .

6. Tom believed he had been made for what happened.

7. When people take the bus at rush hour, they .

Score: