Animals probably do not belong in the workplace . . . but why are there so many English business idioms with animals? It seems as if animals are the perfect way to express some of the situations and experiences in business. Want to learn about English business idioms with animals? Keep reading! How many of these can YOU use in your workplace, or in the CISL Business English classroom?

English business idioms with animals

Bear market

Definition: a market in which share prices* are falling, encouraging selling

Example: They are predicting a bear market the end of this year.

*shares are the pieces of a company that are owned by the public. When people buy and sell on the stock market, they are buying and selling “shares.” 

Bull market

Definition: a market in which share prices are rising, encouraging buying

Example: Because of the bull market this month, we invested heavily in three new technology companies.

Cash cow

Definition: someone or something that makes a lot of money for a business, organization, etc.

Example: She owns a yoga studio, but her real cash cow is the studio’s cafe, which earns most of the profits.

Eager beaver

Definition: a person who is extremely zealous about performing duties and volunteering for more

Example: He was an eager beaver when we first hired him, but lately he’s been much less productive.

Fat cats

Definition 1:  a wealthy contributor to a political campaign fund

Example: The politician invited all of the fat cats to his fundraiser in the hopes that they would contribute to his future campaign.

Definition 2:  a wealthy and privileged person

Example: All of the fat cats from Wall Street live in this neighborhood.

Lame duck

Definition: one that is weak or that falls behind in ability or achievement; an ailing company (used more commonly in British English)

Examples:

Note: a “lame duck” is also used in politics to refer to the last few months of a President’s term before the new President takes over.

Lion’s share

Definition: the largest portion of something

Example: We take the lion’s share of the profits and invest them back into the company.

Example: We made a huge sale today! I gave the lion’s share of the credit to my business partner because she did most of the work.

Monkey business

Definition 1: playful tricks or jokes

Example: No monkey business while the boss is gone!

Definition 2: illegal or improper activity or behavior

Example: They looked at the company’s portfolio, and it seems as if there is some monkey business happening in accounting.

Top dog

Definition: a person, group, or thing in a position of authority especially through victory in a hard-fought competition

Example: My second interview with the company is tomorrow, and it’s with the top dog. I’m nervous!

All photos from Pixabay except “Charging Bull,” which is from Flickr.