2012-03-28      Animal English  - A, B

English, like every language, has lots of "animal" sayings.
From "A" and "B" animals come many sayings:

* When you ape someone you imitate their behavior or words, often in a mocking way:
- He got into trouble when he aped the teacher's way of walking

* To call someone an ass is to say they are dumb and stupid:
- You silly ass. Why did you spill your tea on my clothes?
- He made a real ass of himself when he drank too much alcohol before giving his speech

* To badger someone means to pester them unreasonably:
-  I'm not going to buy that salesman's product. He badgered me too much

* The bat is a symbol of blindness and craziness:
- She's as blind as a bat
- He drove me batty with all his ridiculous talk about making easy money

* HK people know all about a bear market (as opposed to a bull market)

* The beaver is a symbol of industriousness and diligence:
- She worked like a beaver to get her assignment done on time

* The bee is a symbol of business, and impulsiveness:
- She's out in the kitchen preparing dinner, as busy as a bee
- He's got a bee in his bonnet about wall-papering the lounge room

* The beetle is a small and slow guy, but a symbol of perseverance:
- She kept beetling away until she got her computer working again

That will do for now. It's time for me to bee off!