An idiom is sort of a manner of speaking slang- at least this is my thinking. I learned just about all of these so called idioms as I was growing up on a farm in central Texas.
Some of these old sayings just add a little something when chatting with relatives or friends. I still use some of these in what I call my everyday vocabulary.
Anyway to get back to the use of animals in our idioms. Maybe humans are the idiots and dogs are the more intelligent ones.
There are quite a few more old sayings that I did not include. Does anyone out there care to add some that you have heard about or use?? Please send in some comments if you do or just plain comment.
THE LIST
Gone to the dogs
In the dog house
My dogs are barking
Dog tired
Dog days of summer
It’s a dog’s life
Call off the dogs
Meaner than a junk yard dog
Sicker than a junk yard dog
Let sleeping dogs lie.
You can’t teach an old dog new tricks
Crooked as a dog’s hind leg
They dogged me all day.
Looks like something that the dogs drug (or is it dragged) up and the cats wouldn’t eat.
This dog don’t hunt
I’m dog tired
My dogs hurt
He who runs with dogs catches fleas
It’s a dog eat dog world out there
Every dog has his day
The dog that barks the most is not always the one that bites
He was all bark and no bite
Post and photograph: Yvonne