Cat idioms

Plus tip of the week and something just for fun

Photo by Nathalie Jolie on Unsplash

Hello!

I’ve decided to try something a little different!

I have two newsletter groups and for the last few weeks, I’ve been sending the same email to both groups. Now I want to make them different. 

I’m also changing my Substack day from Thursday to Friday. 

If you’d like to get both emails, I’ll tell you how you can do this right at the end of this email.

So here is the first email in my new style for Substack!

1. My most popular post: cat idioms

Idioms always seem to be popular on social media and my most popular post on LinkedIn and Facebook last week was about cat idioms.

These are the idioms I shared in the posts:

Curiosity killed the cat

Curiosity can be a dangerous thing. This expression means you shouldn't ask too many questions because asking questions might get you into trouble.

Don't let the cat out of the bag

We say this when we have a secret, for example, planning a surprise party. It means be careful what you say and don't tell anyone. Don't let the secret out.

When the cat’s away the mice will play

This means that people tend to do what they want when the boss isn't there.

That will put the cat among the pigeons

That will cause an argument or an upset.

And these are the idioms that my followers suggested in the comments:

Look what the cat dragged in

We say this when somebody unwelcome arrives. We also say it in fun when someone arrives late or looking untidy.

You look like the cat that got the cream

You look proud or very pleased with yourself.

There's not enough room to swing a cat

This means that the room or space is small and cramped. (This probably doesn't mean the animal. A cat o' nine tails is a kind of whip.)

To grin like a Cheshire cat

To smile a very big smile. This comes from a cat in "Alice in Wonderland" which has a big smile and can become invisible.

I also learnt that a lot of languages have an idiom which translates as something like “Don’t buy a cat in a bag.” It means don’t buy something without inspecting it first because you might not get what you pay for. We don’t say this one in English but we have “a pig in a poke”, which means something you buy without checking it first.

If you would like to learn even more cat idioms, you can look at this blog post.

And if you’d like to tell me about any more cat idioms in your language, please reply to this email or share it in the comments on Substack. Maybe I could even share it in next week’s newsletter!

2. Tip of the week: Read, read read

Reading is one of the best things you can do to improve your English. Why? Because you can learn grammar and vocabulary in context and it helps you to get a feel for the language.

If you want to improve your English, and especially if you want to improve your vocabulary, you should read! Read anything - books, magazines, websites, social media - but try to find something that’s at the right level for you.

If you don’t know what to read, have a look at this page on my website.

3. Just for fun

Is this really English? If so, what does it mean?!

“I thought a thought.

But the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I'd thought.

If the thought I thought I thought had been the thought I thought, I wouldn't have thought so much!”

Come back next week and I’ll explain!

Until then!

Katie

PS If you’d like to get my other newsletter as well as this one (or instead), you can sign up here: learnenglishwithkatie.co.uk/newsletters