Browsing through my old (1981) edition of
Brewer’s
Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, trying to find the root of the phrase, ‘Fed up’,
I came across this interesting item.
I won’t quote all of it, but you can get the drift, and the
list should bring to mind relevant idioms and descriptions:
Creature symbolizes
Ant frugality and prevision
Ape uncleanness, malice, lust and
cunning
Ass stupidity
Bantam cock pluckiness,
priggishness
Bat blindness
Bear ill-temper,
uncouthness
Bulldog pertinacity
Cock vigilance,
overbearing insolence
Crocodile hypocrisy
Dog fidelity,
dirty habits
Fox cunning,
artifice
Goat lasciviousness
Goose conceit,
folly
Gull gullibility
Hen maternal
care
Lamb innocence,
sacrifice
Leopard sin
Lion noble
courage
Owl wisdom
Ox patience,
strength, pride
Pig obstinacy,
dirtiness, gluttony
Rabbit fecundity
Raven ill-luck
Sheep silliness,
timidity
Worm cringing…
Whether it’s the realisation that ‘the law is an ass’, or
acknowledging the pluckiness of bantamweight boxers, or noticing that person
acting like a bear with a sore head, while shedding crocodile tears; or
thinking of the faithful friend, a dog, or the wily fox, or mother hen, or
gulling people out of money, or leopards being unable to change their spots, or
rabbits breeding like rabbits, or those ravens of the Tower of London, this
symbolism has crept into our everyday language.
Oh, and ‘fed up’ wasn’t in there. It is in the OED and stems
from having enough, fed up to the back teeth, a surfeit, can’t eat another
morsel or rather, no more, thanks, I’m bored. (I can take a hint, and will
close now…)
