List of animal idioms beginning with P and meanings

How does the list works?

There are 3 parts to each idioms the first part is what the idiom is, then an explanation of what it means and the last part is an example of how to use it in a sentence.

How do I use the list of animal idioms A to Z?

To use the list of idioms click on each letter of the alphabet to get the list of the animal idioms for that letter.

[ A ] [ B ] [ C ] [ D ] [ E ] [ F ] [ G ] [ H ] [ I ] [ J ] [ K ] [ L ] [ M ] [ N ] [ O ] [ P ] [ Q ] [ R ] [ S ] [ T ] [ U ] [ V ] [ W ] [ X ] [ Y ] [ Z ]

Animal idioms beginning with P

a paper tiger

- a person or organization that is supposed to have a lot of power but is actually very weak

The manager was a paper tiger and did not have any power in the company.

piggy bank

- a small bank (sometimes in the shape of a pig) for saving money

The boy has been putting money into his piggy bank to save for a bicycle.

piggyback

- sitting or being carried on someone`s back and shoulders

The boy was riding piggyback on his father`s shoulders.

play cat and mouse with (someone)

- to tease or fool someone, to change between different types of behavior when dealing with someone

The man is playing cat and mouse with his company about his plans to quit or not.

play possum

- to pretend to be inactive or asleep or dead

I think that the man is playing possum and is not really sleeping.

put on the dog

- to dress or entertain in a luxurious and extravagant manner

We put on the dog for my parents when they came to visit us.

put one's head in the lion's mouth

- to put oneself in a dangerous or difficult situation

I put my head in the lion's mouth when I went to the meeting with my boss.

put (someone or something) out to pasture

- to retire someone or something (just as you would put a horse that is too old to work out to pasture)

We finally decided to put our old car out to pasture and buy a new one.

put the cart before the horse

- to do things in the wrong order

Buying a ticket before we make our holiday plans is putting the cart before the horse.

put the cat among the pigeons

- to cause trouble

Sending the unpopular supervisor to talk to the angry workers was like putting the cat among the pigeons.

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Idioms human body English lesson

A to Z Idioms - list English phrases

Small List of idioms A - Z English phrases

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