a dog's breakfast
Meaning: A complete mess.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The spreadsheet was a dog's breakfast of colors and missing rows.”
Category: Animals
Origin: Scraps mixed together in a dog's bowl. The British phrase is recorded from the early 20th century; "a dog's dinner" is the same idea.
Equivalents in other languages
- Spanish: arroz con mango — literally: rice with mango
More idioms — Animals
- not a peep — Not a sound, or not a word from someone.
- have a whale of a time — To enjoy oneself enormously.
- use someone as a cat's paw — To get someone else to do one's dirty work.
- play cat and mouse — To toy with someone one has power over.
- keep someone on a short leash — To keep someone under close control.
- rein someone in — To bring someone under control.
More English idioms
- bail someone out — To rescue someone from trouble, especially by paying.
- a double-edged sword — Something with both good and bad consequences.
- blow the lid off — To expose a scandal or secret.
- be ahead of the game — To be in a better position than one's rivals.
- get out of hand — To become impossible to control.
- there are no two ways about it — The matter admits no doubt or alternative.
From our proverbs
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- Happy is he who hath sown his wild oats betimes. — Early indulgence in youthful excess prevents restless regret and wasted energy in later,…