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Larysa Goroshanska
What's the meaning of "I'm a goldfish"? Is there such idiom in English?
Aug 16, 2019 12:18 PM
Answers · 9
3
If you say this it means you are comparing yourself in some manner to a pet goldfish that's usually kept trapped and on display in a small bowl.
As an example, I've heard often the expression "I feel like a goldfish". That is, I am on display/centre of attention to everyone, I don't want this but I can't do anything about it (like how a pet goldfish trapped in a bowl is on display to people).
August 16, 2019
3
There is one idiom to do with goldfishes
If you are in a goldfish bowl - it means that your life is visible to everyone, so imagine the life of a president or a very famous rock star. Pretty much everything they do is seen by the public, and its like living in a goldfish bowl.
Goldfish are notorious for having 7 second memories. So another meaning may be that the person has a very short memory.
Does this question have any context? Where did you hear this being said?
August 16, 2019
2
The common way to say this is - "I feel like I'm living in a goldfish bowl".
This term often used by famous people to describe their lives.
When your activities are continually recorded by photographers or journalists, you feel as visible as a goldfish in a glass bowl.
August 16, 2019
2
Hi Larysa,
English speakers can say someone “has the memory of a goldfish”, meaning they almost completely lack short term memory. It would be something you say self-deprecatingly about yourself.
August 16, 2019
Thanks everyone for the answers.
Really I heard this phrase twice or thrice, when somebody asked me to remind something. So I think people meant they have too short memory:)
August 18, 2019
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Larysa Goroshanska
Language Skills
English, Russian, Ukrainian
Learning Language
English
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