40 Fish Idioms

40 Fish Idioms 40 Fish Idioms 40 Fish Idioms By Mark Nichol 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 â€Å"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 â€Å"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 â€Å"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 Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Using "a" and "an" Before Words8 Writing Tips for Beginners40 Idioms with First