April 30, 2025 • 9 mins
Patrick Woodward and Megan Nollet look at how animals are used in English idioms.
https://spotlightenglish.com/how-to-learn-english/english-idioms-animals/
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https://spotlightenglish.com/how-to-learn-english/english-idioms-animals/
Download our app for Android at http://bit.ly/spotlight-android
Download our app for iOS at http://bit.ly/spotlight-apple
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/spotlightradio
Are you learning English? Are you looking for a way to practice your English? Listen to Spotlight to learn about people and places all around the world. You can learn English words, and even practice English by writing a comment.
Visit our website to follow along with the script: http://spotlightenglish.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Patrick Woodward.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
And I'm Megan Nolette. Spotlight uses a special English method
of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no
matter where in the world they.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Live, animals are everywhere, even when we cannot see them.
There are bugs in the dirt, there are fish in
the sea. Antarctica, the coldest desert in the world, is
still home to millions of animals. There is even one animal,
(00:43):
the tardigrade, that can survive in outer space.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It is no wonder, then that people talk about animals
a lot. This is true in every language, including English,
but you may have noticed that many of these sayings
make no sense. A Native English speaker may talk about
flying pigs. They may say something about a wolf putting
(01:09):
on the clothing of a sheep, as if animals wore clothes.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Native English speakers often use idioms in their speech. Idioms
are words and sayings where the meaning is not clear
from the individual words. They are simply phrases that Native
speakers say that makes sense to other native speakers, but
these phrases are difficult for non native speakers to understand.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
So on this week's Spotlight, we are exploring seven common
animal idioms. Most are not about animals at all, but
using them will help you learn new words and sound
like a native speaker.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Our first animal idiom is the phrase the elephant in
the room. People use this phrase when they are speaking
about a subject that no one wants to talk about.
The avoided subject is usually very important to talk about.
It will be very clear as if it were a
large gray animal sitting in the corner of the room.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Imagine that two married people are throwing a party. Everyone
who comes knows that these two are getting a divorce.
The party is no fun. No one wants to start
talking about their marriage difficulties. You might say that these
problems are the elephant in the room. They are a
(02:40):
huge issue. They affect everyone in the group, but no
one wants to talk about them because they are too
large or too strange to bring up.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Our second animal idiom is to kill two birds with
one stone. Do not worry, animal lovers, You do not
need to kill anything to use this phrase. Instead, the
phrase means to achieve many things in one attempt.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Imagine that a woman needs to visit her sister. It
is her sister's birthday, but the woman also owes her
sister money. She can celebrate the birthday and pay the
money back in one trip. So she might say that
she is killing two birds with one stone by going.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
A third animal idiom is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
No wolves, fierce creatures like a wild dog or sheep
are involved in this idiom. Instead, the phrase means that
a person appears gentle but is not.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
This phrase first appeared in the Christian Bible. This Holy
book often compares sheep to innocent people. A wolf will
hunt sheep, but a sheep can sometimes tell when a
wolf is coming. It can run away from the wolf.
But if a wolf could make itself look like a sheep,
(04:12):
the animal would not recognize its hunter. The wolf could
kill and eat the sheep easily. Someone who is a
wolf in sheep's clothing is similar. They fake meaning well
when they do not.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
A fourth animal idiom is to take the lion's share.
A lion is a large cat, much bigger than a person.
To Native English speakers, the lion's share is the largest
part of something. A person who has taken the lion's
share of something received most of it.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
People often use this phrase in financial situations Imagine a
group of people started a company, but one of these
people spent more time, money, and effort. If the company's
art's making money, he might expect a greater part of
the profits. He would want the lion's share.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
This phrase comes from the Greek storyteller Esop, who lived
around sixteen hundred BCE. In one of his stories, Esop
tells about a hunting party between a lion and three
animals that do not usually hunt, a cow, a goat,
and a sheep. When the animals succeed, the lion takes
the whole kill. He threatens the other animals if they
(05:30):
try to stop him. This story taught that people should
not partner with those who are more powerful than they are.
The powerful person will always take the lion's share.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
A fifth animal idiom is all dressed up like a
dog's dinner. This idiom is popular in the UK but
not in the US. It means that a person is
wearing very nice clothing.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
But there is also an insult in this, saying a
dog's dinner is not very clean. A dog does not
care how it looks when it eats. Calling someone a
dog's dinner means a person who does not take care
of how they look. So a person who is dressed
up like a dog's dinner is presenting themselves differently than normal.
They may even seem a bit foolish.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
A sixth animal idiom is the saying when pigs fly,
do not worry. These large, four legged animals have not
learned to leave the ground. Instead, a person who uses
this saying means they will never do something. They may
also be saying that an event will never happen.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Imagine that a woman is afraid of airplane travel. Her
son lives across the world. He wishes that she would
come visit him, but he does not believe that his
mother will ever find the courage. He may tell his
friends that she will visit him. When pigs fly, no
pig can fly on its own, so he's telling his
friends that he does not believe it is possible.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Our seventh and final animal idiom is a fish out
of water. This saying means that a person is in
a new, often unpleasant situation.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
For example, imagine a young boy is starting a new sport.
He has never trained and knows very little about it.
The only reason he is playing is because his friends do.
At his first game, his inexperience will be clear. People
watching may say that he looks like a fish out
of water.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
This saying is so widespread in English that it is
the name of a kind of story. A fish out
of water story puts its main character in a new situation.
Sometimes something bad happens to this person, maybe they go
to another world or where their business veils. But often
(08:03):
fish out of water stories are funny. They put a
character in humorous situations.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
There are almost as many animal idioms in English as
there are animals on the earth, but these are some
of the most common. Using them might not help you
talk about animals themselves, but these sayings will help you
sound more like a native speaker. Practice them as much
as you can, and use them with your friends.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Do you have any interesting animal idioms in your language?
What are they? You can leave a comment on our
website at www dot Spotlight English dot com. You can
also find us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and x You
can also get our programs delivered directly do your Android
(08:55):
or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
The writer of this program was Dan Christman. The producer
was mitchyo Osaki. The voices you heard were from the
United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted
for this program and voiced by Spotlight. This program is
called English Idioms Animals.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
We hope you can join us again or the next
Spotlight program. Goodbye,
Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Patrick Woodward.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
And I'm Megan Nolette. Spotlight uses a special English method
of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no
matter where in the world they.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
Live, animals are everywhere, even when we cannot see them.
There are bugs in the dirt, there are fish in
the sea. Antarctica, the coldest desert in the world, is
still home to millions of animals. There is even one animal,
(00:43):
the tardigrade, that can survive in outer space.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
It is no wonder, then that people talk about animals
a lot. This is true in every language, including English,
but you may have noticed that many of these sayings
make no sense. A Native English speaker may talk about
flying pigs. They may say something about a wolf putting
(01:09):
on the clothing of a sheep, as if animals wore clothes.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Native English speakers often use idioms in their speech. Idioms
are words and sayings where the meaning is not clear
from the individual words. They are simply phrases that Native
speakers say that makes sense to other native speakers, but
these phrases are difficult for non native speakers to understand.
Speaker 2 (01:37):
So on this week's Spotlight, we are exploring seven common
animal idioms. Most are not about animals at all, but
using them will help you learn new words and sound
like a native speaker.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
Our first animal idiom is the phrase the elephant in
the room. People use this phrase when they are speaking
about a subject that no one wants to talk about.
The avoided subject is usually very important to talk about.
It will be very clear as if it were a
large gray animal sitting in the corner of the room.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Imagine that two married people are throwing a party. Everyone
who comes knows that these two are getting a divorce.
The party is no fun. No one wants to start
talking about their marriage difficulties. You might say that these
problems are the elephant in the room. They are a
(02:40):
huge issue. They affect everyone in the group, but no
one wants to talk about them because they are too
large or too strange to bring up.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Our second animal idiom is to kill two birds with
one stone. Do not worry, animal lovers, You do not
need to kill anything to use this phrase. Instead, the
phrase means to achieve many things in one attempt.
Speaker 2 (03:10):
Imagine that a woman needs to visit her sister. It
is her sister's birthday, but the woman also owes her
sister money. She can celebrate the birthday and pay the
money back in one trip. So she might say that
she is killing two birds with one stone by going.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
A third animal idiom is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
No wolves, fierce creatures like a wild dog or sheep
are involved in this idiom. Instead, the phrase means that
a person appears gentle but is not.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
This phrase first appeared in the Christian Bible. This Holy
book often compares sheep to innocent people. A wolf will
hunt sheep, but a sheep can sometimes tell when a
wolf is coming. It can run away from the wolf.
But if a wolf could make itself look like a sheep,
(04:12):
the animal would not recognize its hunter. The wolf could
kill and eat the sheep easily. Someone who is a
wolf in sheep's clothing is similar. They fake meaning well
when they do not.
Speaker 1 (04:28):
A fourth animal idiom is to take the lion's share.
A lion is a large cat, much bigger than a person.
To Native English speakers, the lion's share is the largest
part of something. A person who has taken the lion's
share of something received most of it.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
People often use this phrase in financial situations Imagine a
group of people started a company, but one of these
people spent more time, money, and effort. If the company's
art's making money, he might expect a greater part of
the profits. He would want the lion's share.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
This phrase comes from the Greek storyteller Esop, who lived
around sixteen hundred BCE. In one of his stories, Esop
tells about a hunting party between a lion and three
animals that do not usually hunt, a cow, a goat,
and a sheep. When the animals succeed, the lion takes
the whole kill. He threatens the other animals if they
(05:30):
try to stop him. This story taught that people should
not partner with those who are more powerful than they are.
The powerful person will always take the lion's share.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
A fifth animal idiom is all dressed up like a
dog's dinner. This idiom is popular in the UK but
not in the US. It means that a person is
wearing very nice clothing.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
But there is also an insult in this, saying a
dog's dinner is not very clean. A dog does not
care how it looks when it eats. Calling someone a
dog's dinner means a person who does not take care
of how they look. So a person who is dressed
up like a dog's dinner is presenting themselves differently than normal.
They may even seem a bit foolish.
Speaker 2 (06:23):
A sixth animal idiom is the saying when pigs fly,
do not worry. These large, four legged animals have not
learned to leave the ground. Instead, a person who uses
this saying means they will never do something. They may
also be saying that an event will never happen.
Speaker 1 (06:46):
Imagine that a woman is afraid of airplane travel. Her
son lives across the world. He wishes that she would
come visit him, but he does not believe that his
mother will ever find the courage. He may tell his
friends that she will visit him. When pigs fly, no
pig can fly on its own, so he's telling his
friends that he does not believe it is possible.
Speaker 2 (07:08):
Our seventh and final animal idiom is a fish out
of water. This saying means that a person is in
a new, often unpleasant situation.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
For example, imagine a young boy is starting a new sport.
He has never trained and knows very little about it.
The only reason he is playing is because his friends do.
At his first game, his inexperience will be clear. People
watching may say that he looks like a fish out
of water.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
This saying is so widespread in English that it is
the name of a kind of story. A fish out
of water story puts its main character in a new situation.
Sometimes something bad happens to this person, maybe they go
to another world or where their business veils. But often
(08:03):
fish out of water stories are funny. They put a
character in humorous situations.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
There are almost as many animal idioms in English as
there are animals on the earth, but these are some
of the most common. Using them might not help you
talk about animals themselves, but these sayings will help you
sound more like a native speaker. Practice them as much
as you can, and use them with your friends.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
Do you have any interesting animal idioms in your language?
What are they? You can leave a comment on our
website at www dot Spotlight English dot com. You can
also find us on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and x You
can also get our programs delivered directly do your Android
(08:55):
or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
The writer of this program was Dan Christman. The producer
was mitchyo Osaki. The voices you heard were from the
United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted
for this program and voiced by Spotlight. This program is
called English Idioms Animals.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
We hope you can join us again or the next
Spotlight program. Goodbye,
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