Five Cat Idioms and Their Meanings

Idioms are a usually local expression way of communicating information. Idioms make up a significant part of a place’s local culture. They can make sense worldwide and sometimes can be translated into other languages. Some of these have equivalents in different languages and cultures. In English, there are some common themes of idioms, one of the main ones, and my personal favourite, cat idioms.

One of the reasons this type of idiom is so popular is that cats are one of the 2 most common pets in the UK. Cats have fascinated people, ever since ancient Egypt, with their fascinating behaviour. These behavioural characteristics have led to people creating some of these idioms. In this article, I will select 5 of my favourite cat-based idioms, explain their logic, meanings and give examples of how to use them.

Cat got your tongue

It’s a way of asking somebody why they aren’t talking. It is often used in a confrontational manner. The logic of the origin of this idiom is that cats have a habit of playing with things and losing them. They also have a hunter’s instinct.

I have 3 cats and they always play with my pens and lose them under the furniture.

This idiom implies that a cat has done the same with someone’s tongue.

So, for example, you could be in a meeting with your boss. Your boss could be extremely angry and criticise you a lot. They could be shouting at you, and you could be there silently. The boss might want you to talk and say, “cat got your tongue?”

Smiling like a Cheshire cat

It is a way of saying somebody is smiling widely. Cheshire is a county in northwest England. In comparison to other places in the north of the country, Cheshire is wealthy therefore, cats there would be treated well and have a high standard of living.

When the boy saw his birthday present, he smiled like a Cheshire cat. He was delighted.

Let the cat out of the bag

It means to give away a secret. The secret is the cat in the metaphorical bag. You could use this in two ways, as a request to tell the secret or say somebody gave away a secret.

– What will be my Christmas present?
– I’m not telling you!
– Oh, tell me! Let the cat out of the bag!

We were planning a surprise party for my mother, but my sister let the cat out of the bag and told her about it and spoiled the surprise!

Let the cat amongst the pigeons

To say or do something that causes chaos, just like a cat would if it were close to pigeons.

When the boss announced that one of the workers would be promoted and the other fired, that really put the cat amongst the pigeons. It caused complete chaos!

Fat cat

Somebody who is rich, powerful, and greedy. A fat cat would be greedy, as most cats are slim, so there is an implication of greed.

This is usually directed at senior investment bankers and corporate CEOs. The greed of fat bankers crashed the economy in 2008.

I hope you enjoyed this article and managed to use these idioms in your daily English conversations.