Hot on the tails of my recent post on idioms about mums for Mother’s Day, this week’s blog takes a look at popular phrases and sayings related to Easter.
Not surprisingly, most Easter idioms in English are associated with rabbits, chickens, eggs and lambs – but I thought I’d sneak in a couple of chocolate-based expressions for good measure!
Bunnies galore
As mad as a March hare = crazy, eccentric
Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed = alert and lively; eager
Catch somebody on the hop = do something when someone isn’t ready for it
Happy bunny = someone who’s satisfied with a situation
Hop it! = used to tell someone to go away
Hop on the bandwagon = become involved with or support an activity/cause that’s recently become popular
Hopping mad = very angry; jumping up and down with rage
Like a rabbit caught in the headlights = so surprised or frightened that you can’t move or think
Pull (or bring) a rabbit out of the hat = come up with an unexpected solution to a problem
Rabbit on = continue talking about something that’s of no interest to the other person
Going cheep
Chickens come home to roost = one’s past mistakes will resurface and cause present troubles
Count one’s chickens = treat something that hasn’t happened yet as a certainty (from the proverb, don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched)
Empty nester = person whose children have grown up and left home
Fly the coop = make one’s escape
Fly the nest = young person leaving their parents’ home to set up home elsewhere
Lay something at someone’s door = name someone as responsible for something
Like a hen with one chick(en) = overly fussy, overanxious
No spring chicken = someone who’s not exactly young anymore
Run around like a headless chicken = act in a panic-stricken, directionless manner
Eggs-travaganza
As sure as eggs is eggs = certainly, beyond any doubt
Bad egg/good egg = untrustworthy/reliable person
Chicken-and-egg situation = unresolved question as to which of two things caused the other
Don’t put all your eggs in one basket (proverb) = don’t depend completely on one plan, with nothing to fall back on if things go wrong
Egghead = very clever person who’s only interested in studying
Egg on = encourage someone to do something foolish or risky
Get cracking = start to act quickly and energetically
Have egg on your face = look stupid because of something you’ve done
Kill the goose that lays the golden eggs = destroy a reliable and valuable source of income
Nest egg = amount of money that’s been saved or kept for a special purpose
Teach someone’s grandmother to suck eggs = offer unnecessary advice to someone who’s older and more experience
Walk on eggshells = be very diplomatic so as not to offend
You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs (proverb) = in order to achieve something, something has to be destroyed or sacrificed
Down on the farm…
Black sheep = someone who’s viewed by the family or group as an outcast because of their behaviour
Mutton dressed as lamb = an older woman dressed in clothes more suited to a younger woman
The grass is always greener on the other side = the belief that an alternative will be better, even though it probably won’t be
Chocoholics unite
Chocolate-box = used to describe a pretty view or picture
Chocolate fireguard/kettle/teapot = something that is utterly useless or pointless
Which of these Easter idioms is your favourite? Do you have any others to share?
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(images courtesy of jannoon028 and Maggie Smith via Freedigitalphotos.net)
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