Idioms (animals)

C1- "Despite her standing in the local community, her stealing the petty cash proved that she was a wolf in sheep’s clothing"

“a wolf in sheep’s clothing”= dangerous pretending to be innocent

C1- “Moving from the country to the city was a shock to the system, I felt like a fish out of water for the

“a fish out of water”= feeling uncomfortable

A1- “We can’t go out today. It is raining cats and dogs”.
B1- “We had to cancel the picnic because it was raining cats and dogs”.
C1- “The dam was close to bursting as it had been raining cats and dogs for days”.

“to rain cats and dogs”= raining heavily

B1- “Peter became a black sheep because of his total disregard for health and safety at work”.
C1- “After many years of committing crimes, Barry was forced to admit to himself that he was the black sheep in his family".

“black sheep”= an odd or naughty member of a group, especially in a family

B1- “I’m getting Joe a new phone for his birthday, please don’t let the cat out of the bag”.
C1- “I accidentally let the cat out of the bag about your engagement, and mum is furious you told me about it before her”.

“to let the cat out of the bag”= to reveal a secret

B1- “When Peter asked Laura on a date, Sarah replied that would happen when pigs fly”.
C1- “After finishing the project two weeks early, I asked my boss if I might have some time off. He replied ‘when pigs fly’”.

B1- “I’ve been in the doghouse for a few days as I completely forgot my girlfriend’s birthday”
C1- “I've got to get going now or I'll be late picking up my wife. I really don't want to be in the doghouse again”.

B1- “Inspections can be a useful tool when a rogue government plays cat and mouse”.
C1- “Tommy Lee Jones won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in the tense cat-and-mouse thriller The Fugitive”.

”to play cat and mouse”= to trick someone so you gain the advantage

C1-“Daniel spent ages trying to install the windows 1909 update. However, after hours of searching, this whole process seemed like a wild goose chase because he couldn’t resolve the issue”.

“a wild goose chase”= a waste of time