Louis’ communication insights: Speaking out for my fellow animal friends

I need to get this off my chest…. I’ve got a real pet peeve I need to share – especially with the communications professionals out there. It’s negative animal idioms. What do I mean? Idioms are phrases that have a figurative meaning that don’t make literal sense. An example is “I’m all ears” – if taken literally, it doesn’t really mean anything, but the figurative meaning is “you have my full attention”. Some others you might have heard are:

• “hang in there”
• “don’t cut corners”
• “under the weather”
• “fingers crossed”

Idioms can bring an emotive spark to conversations and help tell a story, but it’s not always a good story. There are idioms out there that – even with good intentions – can be offensive to different groups. And one of those groups is animals! While not all my animal friends can understand, when harmful language is used it fosters a relaxed culture towards animal cruelty amongst humans. Humans talk a lot about the language they use towards other humans, so why should it be any different towards the animals that share this planet? Here are a few that I hate, as well as some alternatives with a friendlier connotation:

• “bringing home the bacon” – “bringing home the bagels”
• “killing two birds with one stone”- “feeding two birds with one scone”
• “take the bull by the horns” – “take the flower by the thorns”
• “let the cat out of the bag” – “spill the beans”
• “beat a dead horse” – “feed a fed horse”
• “be the guinea pig” – “be the test tube”
• “hold your horses” – “hold the phone”

I’m sure we are all guilty of saying these phrases at one point or another, but let’s make an effort to be more conscious of our words. Positive idioms have the same meaning and creative flair, without hurting mine or my furry friends’ feelings – and they don’t propagate harmful attitudes.