Idiom Families
The Big Idea
SITUATIONS ARE ANIMAL BEHAVIOR - obvious problems are elephants, secrets are cats in bags, futile searches chase wild geese
Animals
The barnyard and the wild supply English's most vivid idioms: the elephant in the room nobody mentions, the cat that escapes the bag, horses that must be held. The animal image is half the meaning - picture it and the idiom locks in.
Fuku's Note
Animal idioms vary wildly by culture: English lets cats out of bags; Japanese borrows cats' paws when busy (neko no te mo karitai). The cross-language animal comparison is endlessly fun content for social clips.
Ryu's Tip
Animal idioms are pictures first, phrases second. See the elephant standing in the meeting room; the phrase follows for free.
Idioms in this family
hold your horses
Wait; slow down; don't act so quickly
let the cat out of the bag
To reveal a secret, usually accidentally
straight from the horse's mouth
Directly from the original, most reliable source
the elephant in the room
An obvious, serious problem that everyone knows about but nobody wants to mention
wild goose chase
A long, frustrating search that has no chance of success