After the success of our article 5 expressions in English related to dogs , today we are going to show you some expressions that contain the word cat . And again, neither is It’s raining cats and dogs ( It ‘s raining cats and dogs ), which is used, but not as much as you think.
The truth is that cats are possibly the animals that monopolize the most in English. There are dozens! What the hell is wrong with cats with cats?
In order not to be stunned, today we are going to see only five that are used a lot in real life English . Yes, there are many more, but these are our favorites. Let’s go see them!
DON’T LEAVE YOUR ENGLISH THIS SUMMER
1. to let the cat out of the bag
drop the hare
To let the cat out of the bag literally means to take the cat out of the bag . It would be the equivalent of your expression letting go of the hare . Yes, for some reason, what for us is a cat for you is a hare, which in English is called hare ( / hée a / ). So that we all understand it, this expression is what we say when there is a secret or a surprise and someone annoys it because it goes off the tongue or uncovers the cake .
For example…
| He wanted to throw her a surprise party, but Jake was tongue-tied! | I wanted to throw a surprise party for her, but Jake let the cat out of the bag! |
2. There’s no room to swing a cat
Not a pin fits
How? That there is no room to swing a cat ? Yes, this is what we say when we want to express that a site is very small, or, as you say in Spanish, there is not room for a pin .
Notice that we use the verb to swing / suín (g) / , which means to swing, swing or spin something. For example:
| You need to get a bigger floor. There’s no room for a pin here! | You need to get a bigger apartment. There’s no room to swing a cat here! |
3. There’s more than one way to skin a cat
every master has his own trick
Skin means skin , but did you know that it can also be a verb? You already know it.
We don’t know why someone would want to skin a cat , which is what to skin a cat means . But what we do know is that there are several ways to face a situation, and that each one faces it in a different way. That is just what this expression means. Let’s see it in context:
| I wouldn’t do it that way, but hey, every teacher has his booklet. | I wouldn’t do it that way but … hey! There’s more than one way to skin a cat. |
DON’T LEAVE YOUR ENGLISH THIS SUMMER
4. Look what the cat dragged in!
Look who’s coming!
Literally this expression means Look what the cat has brought , although it is complicated to translate it into Spanish. First of all, stick with the phrasal verb to drag in , which means to bring or drag something (inside a place) . You already have it? All right! Let’s continue with the expression.
We say Loot what the cat dragged in! somewhat ironically when someone shows up unexpectedly in a place, especially if they come looking scruffy. For example, imagine you stay with your group of friends and one of them comes two hours late and looks like they have been partying all night. If you were a guiri, you couldn’t help but drop a Look what the cat dragged in!
In some contexts it can be translated as We were few and the grandmother gave birth! , but not always, since it does not have to have a negative meaning.
5. This guy is the cat’s pajamas!
This guy is the lemon pear!
Is there anything cooler than a cat’s pajamas? Well surely yes, but for the mind of an English speaker , definitely not, there is nothing cooler than the cat’s pajamas!
The truth is that this expression, although it is older than the sun, makes us very funny. We use it to refer to something that is incredibly cool , and whenever we say it we do so in full awareness of how ridiculously cheesy and vintage it sounds.
Of course, keep in mind that to be the cat’s pajamas is a 100% North American expression. If you like this roll, but want to sound more British , you can say: It’s the bee’s knees! It literally is the bee’s knees , which means the same thing and is just as cheesy. Hey, don’t complain, the lemon pear has its own too!
