Cat idioms
Bald dreht sich alles um Schnurren und Schnurrhaare: Am 8. August ist Weltkatzentag. Damit Sie diesen Tag auch auf Englisch begehen können, haben wir in der aktuellen Ausgabe der Read On einige Redewendungen rund um Katzen zusammengestellt.
LANGUAGE CORNER
By Siobhan Bruns
1 August 8 is International Cat Day. The yearly event was started in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare as a way to raise awareness of cats in order to help and protect them.
2 There are lots of idioms in English that use the word cat. Here are some of them.
3 To let the cat out of the bag is to reveal a secret.
When the cat’s away, the mice will play means people will enjoy themselves (and perhaps misbehave) if the person in charge is not there.
To put the cat among the pigeons is to do or say something that is likely to cause trouble.
If you play a game of cat and mouse with someone, it means you are toying with that person and not acting in an open and honest way.
If you’re wondering why someone isn’t saying very much, you can ask: Has the cat got your tongue?
If you look like something the cat dragged in, you look very bad indeed.
Curiosity killed the cat is what one can say when someone else wants to know something that is none of their business.
Something that’s the cat’s pyjamas is something wonderful (but the expression is a little old-fashioned).
Vocabulary
0–3 idiom Redewendung — International Fund for Animal Welfare Tierschutzorganisation — to raise awareness of das Bewusstsein schärfen für — to protect schützen — to reveal a secret ein Geheimnis verraten — to misbehave sich schlecht benehmen — person in charge Aufsichtsperson — pigeon Taube — to be likely to do wahrscheinlich tun — to cause trouble für Ärger sorgen — to toy with s.o. mit jdm. spielen — to act sich verhalten — honest ehrlich — tongue Zunge — to drag s.th. in etw. hereinschleppen — indeed wirklich — curiosity Neugier — to be none of s.o.’s business jdn. nichts angehen — expression Redewendung — old-fashioned altmodisch
Foto: Pixabay
