The ubiquity of fish in culinary
traditions and the popularity of fishing as both a recreational pastime and a
food-gathering activity has led to the development of many fish-based idioms,
including those listed and described below.
1. all is fish that comes to his net: a proverb
that alludes to a person’s resourcefulness
2–4. another/different/whole other kettle of fish:
spoken to recognize an abrupt shift in the topic being discussed
5–6. better/other fish to fry: a reference to
having more important things to do than what one is doing or than what is
proposed
7. big fish: an important or influential person
8–9. big fish in a little/small pond: an
important or influential person on an insignificant scale, such as in a small
community
10. cold fish: a person who does not exude
friendliness or show emotions
11. cry stinking fish (primarily British English):
self-deprecate
12. drink like a fish: imbibe excessive amounts
of alcohol
13–14. fine/pretty kettle of fish:
a predicament
15. fish around: investigate
16–17. fish for a compliment/compliments:
encourage someone to say something favorable about you without asking outright
18. fish in troubled waters: involve oneself in
a dangerous or difficult situation to risk gaining an advantage
19. fish or cut bait: an admonition to act or to
remove oneself as an obstacle to another person acting
20. fish out of water: a reference to a person
who feels awkward or uncomfortable because he or she is in an unfamiliar
environment
21–24. fish out/fish out of/fish up/fish up out
of: retrieve (the first variation is also used literally to
mean “deplete a body of water of its fish population by overfishing”)
25. fish story: an exaggerated account or tall
tale, from the supposed tendency of fishermen to claim that the “one that got
away” was larger than it actually was
26. fish-eating grin: smug smile
27. fish-eye lens: a type of wide-angle camera
lens
28. fish: inept or stupid person
29. fishy: suspicious
30. like shooting fish in a barrel: a reference
to something that is extremely easy to do, on the notion that fish swimming in
a barrel rather than in open water make for an easy target
31–32. need (something) like/about as much as a
fish needs a bicycle: a reference to the incompatibility of a
fish and a bicycle to convey that something is utterly useless to someone
33. neither fish nor fowl: an allusion to
something difficult to categorize, describe, or understand
34–35. odd/queer fish: a strange
person
36–37. plenty of/more fish in the sea:
a reference to the notion that many other romantic partners are available to
one after the end of a relationship or after one is rejected by another person
38. teach a man to fish: the essence of a
proverb, one version of which is “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a
day; teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime,” which means that it
is better to teach someone to do something than to do it for him or her
39. The cat would eat fish but would not wet her feet:
A proverbial comment referring to the necessity of enduring annoyance or taking
risks to achieve goals
40. What’s that got to do with the price of fish?
(primarily British English): a response to an irrelevant comment or a non
sequitur
And I would add one that you hear in many gangster movies:
41. Sleep with the
fish/fishes: He will be sleeping with the fishes by morning means he will
be dead (killed) by the next morning.
******
Teach in China
We are currently training people who would like to teach English or another subject in China for a year or two. Interested? For details go to: http://www.teachesl.org/china.html
Send us your resume or CV.
