14 interesting Italian animal-related idioms explained

So, you're hanging out with your Italian friends and suddenly they put a flea in your ear and it's a bombshell! Just when you thought things couldn't get any crazier, they start talking about letting someone see a green mouse! Welcome to the wild world of Italian animal idioms!

from verb arrive adjectiveslang bad languageor even gesture, there’s never a dull moment in Italian. But idioms are the real star, and they add color to speeches with their quirky charm. When it comes to animal-related idioms, Italian has some really interesting expressions, taking inspiration from animals big and small, from horses to crabs and even quails.

So, let us break down 14 of my favorite Italian animal-related idioms for you.

1. Put fleas in your ears

Literally: put fleas in ears
significance: Sow seeds of doubt

You may be thinking, “What does 'putting a flea in someone's ear' have to do with it?” Well, in Italian it means to plant seeds of doubt and doubt in someone's mind, just like Like fleas infesting an animal.For example, the phrase His question made my ears ring, and I wondered if there was something I didn't know. (Her question made my ears ring, and I wondered if there was something I didn't know.). It perfectly conveys a feeling of uncertainty and makes you question what you thought you knew.

2. Do quail jumps

Literally: make quail jump
significance: rapid change

No, this Italian idiom isn’t about quails performing acrobatics; it’s about quails performing acrobatics. It's about making quick changes. Like these birds flying to and fro to avoid the hunter, it refers to the agility through life's twists and turns. So if someone switches careers at will like others, or politicians keep jumping from one party to another, then they are definitely doing “quail jumping”! There's even a spicy mention of some kind of birth control method, but I'll let you connect the dots!

3. spit it out

Literally: spit out toad
significance: Spit it out

Imagine spitting out a toad – not the most pleasant image, right? This idiom means to acknowledge something unpleasant or disgusting that you have been suppressing. It's like urging a friend to open up and confide when they're clearly in trouble. You might say, Come on, spill the beans and tell me what's wrong (Come on, spit it out and tell me what's wrong).

4. Know your chickens

Literally: Know your own chicken
significance: know someone well

This idiom is a fun way to express how well you know someone. Why chicken? Well, in the old days, chicken keepers would identify their chickens by tying colorful fabric on their legs, hence the expression. So when you know for sure that you know someone so well that you can predict their next move, you can confidently say, Trust me, I know my chickens! (Trust me, I know my chickens!)

5. Suffer like a dog / suffer like a dog

Literally: suffer like a dog
significance: Feeling bad

Why use such a cute animal to express pain, you ask? Well, consider this: Dogs symbolize love, loyalty, and companionship. When they are isolated or betrayed, they feel very sad, just like us humans. So, when your friend is heartbroken after a breakup, you can say: He suffers like a dog but is not there'I've never seen anything like this (He feels terrible, I've never seen him like this before), capturing the depth of his emotions.

6. Become a viper

Literally: become a poisonous snake
significance: become a snake

In Italy, the viper is infamous as the country's only venomous snake, making it a fitting symbol of a cunning and vicious person. So, if your mother-in-law is always getting into trouble for no reason, you can joke about it, He is such a poisonous snake, always looking for reasons to sow discord! (She is such a snake, always looking for a reason to cause trouble!).

7. go crazy

Literally: to the beast
significance: to irritate/make someone angry

Have you ever been so angry that you could roar like a lion? That's exactly what this Italian idiom describes – making someone so angry that they roar like a wild animal. Think about those times when someone’s arrogant behavior pushed you to the edge.you can say This arrogance of his drives me crazy! (His arrogant behavior makes me angry!).

8. Be a fool

Literally: become a tawny owl
significance: Be a fool, be naive

Far from being stupid, tawny owls are nocturnal predators that always look a little lost in the world with their big round eyes. Sound familiar?Well, in Italian, to call someone owl Like hinting at a hint of innocence or stupidity! This is all done with humor, so don't take it too seriously. Remember, don’t be fooled. After all, you don’t want to be labeled “owl“Would you like it now?”

9. Catch crabs

Literally: catch crabs
significance: make mistakes

So, you are at sea and imagine that you can catch a lot of fish. Suddenly, you feel a tug on your fishing line and you reel it in excitedly, only to discover that it's not a fish, but a sneaky crab that could cause damage to your gear. This humorous idiom conveys the idea of ​​making a mistake or making a mistake in judgment, like mistakenly thinking you've caught a valuable fish but finding a crab instead!

10. Use fireflies as lanterns

Literally: Use fireflies as lanterns
significance: Misunderstanding/misunderstanding

Similar to crabs, fireflies can also cause obvious errors or misunderstandings, such as confusing two completely different things. See, fireflies and lanterns both glow, of course, but beyond that, they're worlds apart. So next time your friend Maria insists she's right about something, tease her and say: Always using fireflies as lanterns, even pretending to be right! (You always mistake fireflies for lanterns and claim you are right!)

11. Horse riding

Literal meaning: riding on horseback
Meaning: to be in a favorable situation or on the right track

This expression expresses the idea of ​​completing a task or situation with ease. Imagine that you and your friends are studying for an exam and you realize that there is only one chapter left to study. You can happily say, Come on, we only have one chapter left and we're on our way! (Come on, we have one chapter left and we're in great shape!). The expression originates from the Middle Ages, when owning a horse was a sign of privilege and provided opportunities for farming, travel, or warfare.

12. Cats don’t have tripe

Literally: No cat belly
significance: Nothing is free in this world

During a financial review of Rome's budget in the early 1900s, then-mayor Ernesto Nathan stumbled upon certain allocations for feeding the city's cats to control rats. He took the bold step of immediately cutting spending and famously declared: “Cats have no internal organs!” And thus, this iconic Italian idiom was born, symbolizing the harsh reality of limited resources and dashed hopes.Like a child begging for more pocket money and getting a firm response Don't try, cats don't have guts! (Don’t worry, cats don’t have guts!).

13. Don’t pull the spider out of the hole

Literally: Can't get the spider out of the hole
significance: nowhere to go

This Italian proverb perfectly describes what it feels like to put in the effort and come away empty-handed. Some believe its roots can be traced back to the humble dwellings of ancient farmers, where spiders often took up residence in the countless nooks and crannies. The mental image of trying to rescue a spider from such tight quarters vividly illustrates the frustration of the task. Like, imagine jumping from one municipal office to another all morning, desperately looking for certificates, but to no avail – at such moments, you can express your frustration by saying, I wasted the whole morning without getting anything out of the hole (I wasted the whole morning and got nothing).

14. Let others see the green mouse

Literally: let someone see the green mouse
significance: to cause difficulty to someone, to cause trouble to someone

This quote humorously describes a person going through a tough time. Its origins date back to the 1930s, when a squadron of Italian pilots decorated their aircraft with three playful green rats as their emblem. These brave pilots won international competitions and braved war, making the presence of those rats synonymous with trouble ahead. Fast forward to today, and you might hear this phrase in conversation, like a teacher exclaiming: That class today made me blue in the face! (Today, that class showed me the green mouse!)

Valentina Nicastro He is a travel writer who loves his motherland, Italy. After traveling around the world, she realized there was more to explore closer to home and decided to put her passport aside for the time being. When she's not immersed in documenting Italy, you'll find her donning her hat as a communications consultant, weaving words as a content writer and bridging language gaps as a translator.