Idiomatic Animals Trivia Quiz

Answer: Wolf

The expression 'a wolf in sheep's clothing' is a very old one, and appears in the Bible. Jesus refers to it in His 'Sermon on the Mount' in the Gospel of Matthew, warning about false prophets. It also appears in one of Aesop's Fables, although the wolf comes to a sticky end when the shepherd kills him. The idiom warns you to be careful as people are not always what they appear to be.

Answer: Bats

This is an expression which seems to have originated in America in about 1900. A belfry is another name for a bell tower, where bats can make their home, and the expression implies that the person has the creatures flying around in his or her head. The idiom is normally used for someone eccentric, who is just a bit different.

Answer: Swing it

There are some theories that the expression comes from a whip called a cat o' nine tails, which is swung to hit a prisoner, but no-one seems to know for sure. It is an old idiom, which first appeared in a book printed in 1665 - it may, of course, be even older than that.

The other options are all related to cat idioms - there is more than one way to skin a cat means that there is more than one way to do something. You are said to kick the cat when you are annoyed (this is a saying - you wouldn't really kick it). 'Look what the cat dragged in' is used to describe someone who is looking scruffy or untidy.

Answer: Bull

A cock and bull story is one which is so far-fetched that it is unbelievable. The idiom has been around since the seventeenth century and possibly originated in France, since there are references to a 'rooster to jackass' story in French.

Answer: Bush

A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush is an expression that can be dated to 1670 for certain, when it appeared in a book of proverbs. It is likely to be much older. You should not wish for the birds in the bush, which will probably fly away before you can catch them, when you already have one in your possession.

Answer: Guinea pig

Guinea pigs, the animals, were used in scientific experiments as long ago as the eighteenth century. The first use of the expression to apply to humans seems to date from the early twentieth century, and it is now used to refer to any new experience. An example would be 'I'm trying out a new recipe, so my friends are acting as guinea pigs'.

Answer: Fleas

'If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas'. There are various versions of the idiom, but they all mean that mixing with the wrong people will lead you to acquire their bad habits. The origin of the expression is uncertain - there is even a version in Latin - but it is a warning to avoid bad people.

Answer: Badger

To badger someone means to be a nuisance, and keep asking for something - 'can I have an ice cream, mum, can I, can I?' for example. Of course, mum will probably lose her temper and send you to your room, so badgering her doesn't (usually) work. There is evidence that using 'badger' as a verb in this sense dates back to at least the late eighteenth century.

Answer: Mole

The saying dates from around the middle of the seventeenth century. As you can see, the molehills are quite small and nothing like a mountain, so 'making a mountain out of a molehill' is a good description of over-reacting to a minor problem. The mounds of earth are made by the mole as it makes its underground burrows, which are fine in a field but not in the middle of a nicely kept lawn.

Answer: Fox

The expression may come from the stories about a fox named Reynard, who frequently outwitted people by trickery and cunning. The idiom can be 'as sly as a fox' or 'as cunning as a fox', but either way it means to achieve your aims by methods which aren't necessarily fair.