Animal rights charity PETA has suggested that many current English idioms carry negative associations with animal abuse and that we should change their wording to reflect awareness of animal rights. The altered animal idioms would retain the original meaning, while shedding the abusive imagery. As vegetarianism and veganism become more popular and awareness of animal rights grows, should our language change to keep up with society’s shifting attitudes? And is this a positive progression – or political correctness gone mad?

 

Dr Shareena Hamzah, an academic researcher at Swansea University, has suggested that society will naturally move away from using traditional idioms related to animal cruelty. She believes this is related to growing interest in veganism and greater awareness of animal rights and that animal idioms will have to change to keep up with shifts in society’s attitudes.

Idioms as Linguistic Tools

For example, animal idioms that include phrases such as ‘bringing home the bacon’ and ‘beating a dead horse’ will be replaced with animal-friendly versions as our language reflects a growing awareness of animal rights and an increased discomfort with the idea of killing animals for food. 

Dr Hamzah said: “If veganism forces us to confront the realities of food’s origins, then this increased awareness will undoubtedly be reflected in our language and literature. The increased awareness of vegan issues will filter through our consciousness to produce new modes of expression.”

English has many animal idioms and idioms related to meat-eating. These idioms also sometimes feature expressions of cruelty towards animals. English speakers hear these animal idioms as part of linguistic culture and do not normally associate the phrases with actual animal abuse. They are simply linguistic tools used to express an idea.

 

How Language Reflects Culture

However, some would argue that our language affects they way we see the world and that repeated use of phrases can shape our attitudes. So if we continue using animal idioms with language that seems to sanction animal abuse, this could negatively affect the relationship between humans and animals and lead people to think about animal cruelty as justified or normalised.

Language can shape our attitudes to the world. We can see this with patriarchal language structures where feminine words have a negative connotation, while their masculine counterparts have a positive or neutral connotation in English culture. For example, witch and wizard or bachelor and spinster.

Can language can encourage prejudices?

These connotations show how language reflects sexism in society. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to suggest that this reflection can also work the other way around to subtly encourage or sanction prejudices.

Language has the power to encourage negative or prejudiced beliefs, especially when we learn the words and absorb their cultural associations and connotations as children, just when we are developing our opinions about the world.

It seems obvious that our language is connected strongly with social attitudes. So it is easy to see why phrases that refer to animal abuse could be seen as potentially damaging. 

Political Correctness

Changing the way we talk about a topic is sometimes done for political correctness. This means, in order not to offend a group of people or to show respect towards someone or something, we alter the way we talk about it.

Some people see these type of changes to avoid giving offence as ‘over the top’ and unnecessary. They see it as ‘political correctness gone mad’. However, we feel it is better to have some things a little ‘over the top’ than no change at all. Society still has a long way to go in order to reach a level of fairness and respect for everyone within it. These small changes have the potential to make a big difference over time.

English Animal Idioms

Some of the most common English animal idioms and PETA’s suggested alternatives include:

• To bring home the bacon – to earn money 
• Alternative: to bring home the bagels

• To kill two birds with one stone – to achieve two goals with one action
• Alternative: To feed two birds with one scone

• To beat a dead horse – to continue trying to change something that can’t be changed
• Alternative: to feed a fed horse

• To put all your eggs in one basket – to pin all your hopes on one possibility
• Alternative: to put all your berries in one bowl

• To let the cat out of the bag – to reveal a secret
• Alternative: To spill the beans

• Take the bull by the horns – to deal directly with a difficult situation
• Alternative: To take the flower by the thorns

• There is more than one way to skin a cat – there is more than one way to deal with a problem
• Alternative: There is more than one way to peel a potato

 

• Hold your horses – wait 
• Alternative: Hold the phone

• To open a can of worms – to do something that creates more problem
• Alternative: To open Pandora’s box

Vegan-Friendly Alternative Idioms

PETA has published a number of animal friendly idiom alternatives to those listed above. Instead of skinning a cat, we can peel potatoes; instead of beating a dead horse, we can feed a fed horse.

Some of these alternative suggestions are related to other idioms and ideas that are already in existence. For example, Pandora’s Box is an expression from Greek mythology. When you ‘open Pandora’s Box’, you do something that creates a whole chain of problems.

The phrase ‘to spill the beans’ is already used to mean ‘to reveal a secret’. So this can take over from ‘let the cat out the bag’ easily.

The rise of veganism around the world and the increase in awareness of animal rights will probably lead to a reduction in the number of meat-related idioms in common usage. This isn’t only because of discomfort with the wording, but also as these idioms will become less relevant to our society. 

When we first hear an idiom, it might sound rather strange, but after a while of usage, we stop thinking about the literal meaning of the phrase. However, language can still colour our relationship with the world.

Literal meanings and symbolism

Some of these common meat-eating-related animal idioms sound oddly macabre when we think about their literal meaning. No one wants to think about killing a bird with a stone or flogging a dead horse. The phrases have horrible imagery.

Even though we only focus on the symbolic meaning of the idioms, it is still true that the image they present can be unpleasant. It is also commendable that PETA has formulated these alternative idioms for language learning.

If we can replace the wording of these animal idioms while retaining the original meaning, we think this could be a great opportunity to modernise the language, reflect true societal change and encourage a more respectful attitude towards animals. 

What do you think?

Share your opinions

Should we try to rephrases any idioms related to animal cruelty? 

It is important to preserve traditional idioms as part of our linguistic heritage?

Can you think of more animal related idioms that could be re-phrased?

Is changing the language a matter of positive progression – or is it political correctness gone mad?

Share your thoughts in the comments.