A cat may have nine lives, but bigger members of her family don’t appear to be so lucky. Cecil, the lion, a favourite of the Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe, was recently killed by an American big game hunter, provoking a worldwide outcry by conservationists and the general public alike. The country, which like many other countries of Africa takes pride in its prides of lions, has asked for the extradition of the American. The tiger may be the face of animal conservation in the larger part of the world but the lion is known for its nonchalant fearlessness. And they look majestic. It is sad that they, or for that matter any animal, are killed for making a merchandise out of their remains or for a misplaced thrill. They make our world beautiful and add colour to our vocabulary as well. Here’s a look at some of the interesting expressions referring to animals that have found their way into our dictionaries. First about a cute little word, kibitz. It means to look on at a cards game or the like and give advice often unwanted and unsolicited. This has its origin in the German word kiebitzen, meaning to look on, especially in an annoying way while others are playing cards. The verb form comes from kiebitz, which is the name of a little bird with a reputation of being noisily imitative. [related-post] My old family car, an Amby, has become a white elephant. There is no buyer and maintaining it is a costly affair. The expression, which refers to something that is useless and no longer needed, although it might have been a prized possession earlier, has its origin in a Thai tradition. According to this, an albino elephant, considered sacred, could only be owned by a king. The king would present it to a subject with whom he was displeased and wait until the cost of feeding the animal ruined the owner. English-speaking people began to use it figuratively around the beginning of the 19th century. From the horse’s mouth (at times also put as straight from the horse’s mouth) refers to a source of information which is most authentic. The expression alludes to the practice in medieval times when horses’ teeth were examined to determine their actual age and hence worth. By the way, a pride of lions is a pack of lions which live together with one of them being the leader of the pack. At some other time we will look into some more unusual plural forms used to refer to a group of animals.
