IdiomAnimals
English
Englishfly the coop
Meaning: To escape.
Example: “The last of our kids flew the coop last fall, and the house feels empty.”
Equivalents in other languages
French: Se faire la malle Literally: To make oneself the trunk
Origin: American slang from around 1900. A coop is a cage for chickens, and "coop" was also slang for a jail, so a prisoner who escaped had flown the coop like a loose hen.
More English idioms
- horse sense Common sense or practical shrewdness.
- lame duck A person who holds an office but has little real influence because he or she has not been…
- not look a gift horse in the mouth To find fault with a gift or to refuse a gift, usually because one is suspicious of the g…
- look like the cat that swallowed the canary To have a knowing and self-satisfied smile on one's face; to be pleased with oneself, oft…
- lucky dog A lucky person.
- monkey around To play like a monkey, i.e., climb on or examine things with curiosity.
Explore another collection: False Friends
Words that look familiar in another language but mean something else entirely.
Keep exploring