the cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet
In order to achieve something, it is inevitable and necessary that some sacrifices be made.
Animals · Muông thú 372
Buffaloes, cats, fish, and the creatures carrying our metaphors.
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there are more horses' asses than horses
There are plenty of obnoxious people (in the world, or in a specified place or situation). Apparently it can also refer to political situations.
there's more than one way to feed a cat
Synonym of there's more than one way to skin a cat.
tinned dog
Canned meat.
too much pudding will choke a dog
One can have too much of a good thing.
trap out
To deplete an area of all individuals of a certain animal, bird, etc., by trapping.
triple dog dare
Used to denote compounding levels of dare "seriousness"; the escalation of a double dog dare.
turd cutter
The buttocks.
up to one's ass in alligators
Beset by multiple difficulties or adversaries that must be dealt with quickly.
velvet hippo
A pit bull terrier.
when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras
Alternative form of when you hear hoofbeats, think of horses, not zebras.
whistle up
To gather (especially people or dogs) together, calling them by whistling.
wild as a Tuckernuck steer
Wild, reckless, harum-scarum.
wolf back
To devour; to gobble; to eat (something) voraciously.
yellow out
To become thoroughly yellow, such as drying tobacco leaves, ripening fruit or aging newspaper.
birdbrain
A silly or scatter-brained person.
a cat may look at a king
Even those of low status have rights
a dog is a man's best friend
A dog is extremely loyal and beneficial to its owner
after dark
A bookmaker's clerk.
ark ruffians
Rogues who, in conjunction with watermen, robbed, and sometimes murdered, on the water, by picking a quarrel with the passengers in a boat, boarding it, plundering, stripping, and throwing them overboard, &c. A species of badger. CANT.
at large
Recognized English idiom; full definition pending editorial review.
babes in the wood
Criminals in the stocks, or pillory.
back up
His back is up, i.e. he is offended or angry; an expression or idea taken from a cat; that animal, when angry, always raising its back. An allusion also sometimes used to jeer a crooked man; as, So, Sir, I see somebody has offended you, for your back is up.
bad egg
A scoundrel or rascal.
barking irons
Pistols, from their explosion resembling the bow-wow or barking of a dog. IRISH.
bear with
to be patient with someone or something
beast with two backs
A couple engaged in intimate physical activity
beef bayonet
The penis.
big as bull-beef
Very big.
bird and baby
The sign of the eagle and child.
birds and bees
Human reproduction and sex
bleating rig
Sheep stealing. Cant.
bufe nabber
A dog stealer. CANT.
bull calf
A great hulkey or clumsy fellow. See HULKEY.
bull's feather
A horn: he wears the bull's feather; he is a cuckold.
butcher's dog
To be like a butcher's dog, i.e. lie by the beef without touching it; a simile often applicable to married men.
butcher's horse
That must have been a butcher's horse, by his carrying a calf so well; a vulgar joke on an awkward rider.
canary bird
A jailbird.
cat got someone's tongue
Unable to speak due to nervousness or surprise
cat piss
something of very poor quality
cat's foot
To live under the cat's foot; to be under the dominion of a wife hen-pecked. To live like dog and cat; spoken of married persons who live unhappily together. As many lives as a cat; cats, according to vulgar naturalists, have nine lives, that is one less than a woman. No more chance than a cat in hell without claws; said of one who enters into a dispute or quarrel with one greatly above his match.
cat's meow
Something or someone excellent or wonderful
cats and dogs
It is said to rain cats and dogs when a shower is exceptionally heavy. Probably in ridicule of the remarkable showers which used to find their way into the papers during the "silly season."
cattle call
An audition where many people are seen briefly
cherry-coloured cat
A black cat, there being black cherries as well as red.
cheshire cat
He grins like a Cheshire cat; said of anyone who shews his teeth and gums in laughing.
chicken liver
A coward.
choke off
to stop or suppress something
cock and bull story
A long, rambling anecdote.—See Peroration to Tristram Shandy.
cold meat cart
A hearse.
colt's tooth
An old fellow who marries or keeps a young girl, is said to have a colt's tooth in his head.
cooped up
Imprisoned, confined like a fowl in a coop.
coyote ugly
Very ugly.
cramp rings
Bolts, shackles, or fetters. CANT.
creature comfort
Things that bring physical comfort and pleasure
creature feature
a movie featuring monsters or supernatural creatures
cup of the creature
A cup of good liquor.
ding boy
A rogue, a hector, a bully, or sharper. CANT.
dog and cat
people who do not get along
dog around
to waste time or be lazy