set the cat among the pigeons
Meaning: To say or do something that causes trouble or uproar.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Announcing the layoffs at the party set the cat among the pigeons.”
Category: Animals
Origin: A cat let loose among pigeons causes chaos. The British phrase is found from the early 20th century, possibly echoing older versions.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Un pavé dans la mare — literally: A paving stone in the pond
More idioms — Animals
- all bark and no bite — Threatening or boastful but not actually dangerous.
- talk the hind legs off a donkey — To talk endlessly.
- jump through hoops — To go through many difficult or pointless steps to get something.
- slow and steady wins the race — Patience and persistence succeed better than haste.
- like a duck to water — Naturally and easily, as if born to it.
- kill the goose that lays the golden eggs — To destroy a source of profit out of greed.
More English idioms
- storm clouds are gathering — Trouble is coming.
- be rolling in it — To be very rich.
- be worth one's weight in gold — To be extremely valuable or useful.
- the flip side of the coin — The opposite, usually less pleasant, aspect of something.
- the eighth wonder of the world — Something extraordinary, often said ironically.
- a den of thieves — A place full of dishonest people.
From our tongue twisters
- Pad kid poured curd pulled cod. — Alternating repetition — the consonants swap at the start of every other word, which is w…
- Red lorry, yellow lorry. — The 'l/r' alternation drill — deceptively short, yet almost impossible to say fast withou…
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? — A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.