He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. She eats like a bird. It’s raining cats and dogs. They’re on a wild goose chase. He’s a sitting duck. Something’s fishy. He’s an eager beaver. They got the lion’s share. Let’s take the bull by the horns.
There are many such idioms in the English language that are related to the diverse array of creatures with which we share this planet. So let’s venture into the animal kingdom and explore some of the terms and expressions that are derived from these denizens.
We can start with the birds and the bees. “The birds and the bees” is an American expression referring to a rite of passage in the lives of most children when parents explain human sexuality to them. “The talk” relies on the imagery of bees pollinating and eggs hatching to substitute for a more technical explanation of sexual intercourse.
On a musical note, Cole Porter wrote this lyric in his song “Let’s Do It”:
Birds do it,
Bees do it,
Even educated fleas do it.
Let’s do it,
Let’s fall in love.
In that vein, couples who bill and coo (in the bird realm, “billing and cooing” refers to the affectionate and intimate actions displayed by mating pairs) may be called “lovebirds.” The term “lovebirds” describes two people who are obviously very much in love with each other and are openly affectionate in public. The term relates to the bird species because birds are known for being extremely caring toward one another. So it stands to reason why “birds of a feather flock together.” In ornithology, “lovebird” is the common name of the Agapornis, a small genus of parrot. These particular bosom budgies are so named because of their strong monogamous bonding and the long periods of time they spend sitting together.
Pairs that are attracted to each other, be they people or parrots, make a beeline for their mates at every opportunity. The phrase “make a beeline” means to go quickly and directly toward something or someone. The word “beeline” denotes the shortest route or a straight line between two points. The term references the route that worker honeybees take to bring nectar and pollen back to their hive.
Another phrase that connotes the shortest path between two points is “as the crow flies.” That expression is derived from British coastal vessels that customarily carried a cage of crows. Crows, it seems, detest large expanses of water, so they head straight toward the nearest land if released at sea. That proved extremely useful for crews sailing in foggy weather and couldn’t see where the nearest land was located. Thus the lookout perch on sailing vessels became known as “the crow’s nest.”
How do I know that? Well, I could say that a little bird told me. But truth be told, the credit goes to that fathomless font of information, Google. In fact, according to Google the phrase “a little bird told me” is derived from the Bible and is attributed to the wisest of men, King Solomon. In his latter years, King Solomon wrote the following in Ecclesiastes: “Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird of the air may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say.” The interpretation is that we must be careful with what we say because our words may be carried to the hearer in some unexpected ways. Thus the expression “a little bird told me” has come to mean that one has received information from a source that one is not prepared to disclose.
Among our fine feathered friends is the turkey. In keeping with the subject of fowl language, “to talk turkey” means to have an honest and frank discussion. The origin of that expression dates back to colonial times. Historical accounts suggest that the phrase came about from the day-to-day bartering between colonists and Indians over wild turkeys.
The expression “to go cold turkey” means to undergo sudden and complete withdrawal from a habitual activity or behavior pattern; to begin or do something without planning, preparation, or practice. The phrase is attributed to the goose bumps that appear with abrupt withdrawal from opioid drugs, which resemble the skin of a plucked refrigerated turkey.
Spreading our wings a little further, the statement “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck” is the classic “duck test” to suggest that something can be identified by its habitual characteristics. In that regard, there are many familiar idioms that are used to liken a person’s nature to the salient quality of a certain animal. Here are some such similes that spring to mind: Free as a bird. Busy as a bee. Stubborn as a mule. Sly as a fox. Blind as a bat. Slippery as an eel. Gentle as a lamb. Strong as an ox. Swift as an eagle. Graceful as a swan. Happy as a lark. And proud as a peacock. With that fabulous fantail flourished by the male peacock, who wouldn’t be?
When birds of a feather flock together, the groupings are referred to in such terms as a brood of chickens, a gaggle of geese, a murder of crows. Assemblages of other types of animals include descriptors such as a pride of lions, a herd of cattle, a pack of wolves, and a barrel of monkeys. Speaking of which, just for the fun of it, here are some legitimate terms for collections of creatures that are as colorful as they are obscure: A shrewdness of apes. A coalition of cheetahs. A sedge of cranes. A convocation of eagles. A flamboyance of flamingos. A skulk of foxes. A tower of giraffes. A cackle of hyenas. A conspiracy of lemurs. A leap of leopards. A parliament of owls. A prickle of porcupines. A murmuration of starlings. A bevy of swans. A zeal of zebras.
In human society, animals can be used to symbolize certain concepts, companies, or organizations. For example, the koala bear represents Australia’s national airline, Qantas. The panda represents WWF, the World Wildlife Fund. Leo the Lion is the symbol of the MGM film studio. And the stock market is the habitat of bulls and bears. The term “bull market” denotes a situation when stock prices are on the rise and economically sound, while “a bear market” denotes that stock prices are in decline. One explanation for the symbolic use of these two animals is that bulls attack by bringing their horns upward, while bears attack by swiping their paws downward.
Veering into the auto industry, animals figure largely in the names of vehicles, such as the Greyhound bus, the Jaguar, the Volkswagen Beetle, the Mitsubishi Colt, the Ford Pinto – but that’s a horse of a different color. And then there’s the Corvette Stingray, the AMC Marlin, and the Plymouth Barracuda – but that’s another kettle of fish.
I could go on until the cows come home, but I’ll hold my horses for now. This is not my first rodeo. ■
Political animals
In the arena of politics, we encounter political animals, figuratively and literally. The term “political animal” is derived from Greek philosopher Aristotle, who defined political animals as those that live together for some common function. Specifically, “Animals that live politically are those that have any kind of activity in common, which is not true of all gregarious animals. Of this [common activity] sort are man, bee, wasp, and crane.” He believed that man was a political animal “because he is a social creature with the power of speech and moral reasoning.”
In the US, the Democratic Party is represented by the figure of a donkey, while the Republicans are symbolized by the logo of an elephant. The reasoning behind the two animals dates back to the 19th century.
During the 1828 presidential campaign for Andrew Jackson, his opponents called him a jackass. Instead of rejecting the derogatory term, Jackson was amused and used the image of a donkey in his campaign posters. He went on to serve as America’s seventh president and first Democratic head of state to use the jackass as the party’s symbol. During the 1870s, the donkey became synonymous with the entire party when Thomas Nast popularized it in his political cartoons.
The Republican Party was formed in 1854. In 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the party’s first elected president. During the Civil War, which began in 1861, the image of an elephant was featured as a Republican symbol in a newspaper illustration. Soldiers used the term “seeing the elephant” to mean experiencing combat. The elephant began to take hold as the Republican symbol in 1874 when Nast used it in his political cartoons portraying the Republican Party.
When the current US election results are tallied (and deemed valid!) on November 5, we’ll see which party animal will take up residence in the White House.