Fish Idioms: The English language is universally recognized for its multiplicity. It is built with the help of a number of components that aid us in completing a sentence. These components are known as parts of speech, among which idioms are a crucial element. A list of various idioms including fishing idioms and phrases help us to shape our vocabulary and unlock more ways to carry our ideas into the environment.
This article has been put together to display catchy fish phrases for out dear learner’s increased accessibility. These big fish and other such related idioms list provide benefits to learners in building their English.
Enrich your Vocabulary by practicing the English Idioms that are commonly used in everyday conversations and understand their actual meaning.
Name of Fish Idioms
List of Fish Idioms
- A big fish
- A fine kettle of fish
- A fish out of water
- A queer fish
- A red herring
- A shark
- All is fish that comes to the net
- Arms like an octopus
- Big fish in a small pond
- Cold fish
- Cry stinking fish
- Fish eye
- Fish on a platter
- Fish tale
- Fish-eating grin
- Fish-kiss
- Flying fish
- Have a whale of a time
- Like shooting fish in a barrel
- Odd-fish
- Slippery as an eel
- Sounds fishy
- Squashed like sardines
- Teach a man to fish
- There are plenty of other fish in the sea
- To be crooked as a barrel of fish hooks
- To be neither fish nor fowl
- To drink like a fish
- To fish (someone or something) out of (someone or something)
- To fish around
- To fish for compliments
- To fish for something
- To fish in troubled waters
- To fish or cut bait
- To fish-tail
- To have better fish to fry
- To leap like a salmon
- To need something like a fish needs a bicycle
- To sleep with the fishes
- What’s that got to do with the price of fish?
- Like a stunned mullet
- Green around the gills
- Holy mackerel!
Meaning and Examples of some commonly used Fish Idioms
A big fish
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is influential or a very famous personality.
Example: My brother just lost his job, and I don’t know why he still acts like a big fish.
A fine kettle of fish
Meaning: This idiom describes the situation where there is discomfort, annoyance, difficulty, or displeasure.
Example: After breaking up with Rose, she found herself in a fine kettle of fish.
A fish out of water
Meaning: This idiom describes someone who feels out of place or uncomfortable in a particular situation or environment.
Example: In our new University, I felt like a fish out of water in class.
A queer fish
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who seems strange and has an unusual or peculiar behavior.
Example: He tried desperately to blend in with the crowd, but he still felt like a queer fish due to his actions.
A red herring
Meaning: This idiom describes a piece or specific pieces of information provided somewhere intended to be distracting or misleading.
Example: The movie had epic scenes, and the script was full of red herrings.
A shark
Meaning: This idiom describes the act of involving oneself with potentially dangerous or cunning people.
Example: I thought you were a trustworthy lawyer, looks like you’re swimming with sharks now.
All is fish that comes to the net
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of utilizing anything and everything possible by a person to complete a specific task.
Example: He took all types of courses to get his dream job, and he succeeded because he is a fish that comes to the net.
Arms like an octopus
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is clingy and has a habit of sticking to people in a creepy way. In simpler words, it describes someone who cannot keep their hands off of someone.
Example: He has arms like an octopus which made all of us uncomfortable at the party.
Big fish in a small pond
Meaning: This idiom describes someone who holds way more talent, knowledge, experience, and power compared to others in a small field similar to them.
Example: When he graduates from language school, he will be called a big fish in a small pond.
Cold fish
Meaning: This idiom describes someone who is pretty unmoved by any emotion. In simpler words, they come off as harsh and unemotional.
Example: He acted like a cold fish at the first conference, but he is quite cheerful in person.
Cry stinking fish
Meaning: This idiom describes someone who puts themselves low or holds themselves down due to various reasons. It is a British English idiom.
Example: Oh, come on, Vernon! Don’t cry, stinking fish; you are doing your best!
Fish eye
Meaning: This idiom describes the act of looking at someone and glaring at them. In simpler words, it is a mean look that an individual gives to someone else.
Example: I was terrified of the fish eye the stranger at the mart was giving me, but later I found out he was blind.
Fish on a platter
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of doing or achieving something that is not rewarded.
Example: His help came off like fish on a platter.
Fish tale
Meaning: This idiom describes an exaggerated truth or a lie told by an individual.
Example: Even though she tried hard to convince us, we all thought it sounded like a fish tale.
Fish-eating grin
Meaning: This idiom describes someone whose smile is that of an overly satisfying vibe that is mainly aimed at irritating or annoying others.
Example: She has been going around the campus with a fish-eating grin since she’s the daughter of a CEO.
Fish-kiss
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of going in for a kiss or trying to kiss an individual with puckered lips.
Example: My baby brother got flustered after fish-kissing his friend at school.
Flying fish
Meaning: This idiom is a comment or phrase an individual makes which indicates they do not care about something or someone.
Example: I know he didn’t like my cooking, but do you think I give a flying fish about it?
Have a whale of a time
Meaning: This idiom describes an environment or a particular time that is fun, enjoyable, entertaining, and relaxing for an individual.
Example: I thought it would be awkward, but thankfully we have a whale of a time.
Like shooting fish in a barrel
Meaning: This idiom describes an activity or a task that is extremely easy to complete.
Example: I had never tried cooking scrambled eggs, but it was like shooting a fish in a barrel.
Odd-fish
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is different from others or strange or weird compared to other individuals.
Example: The more time passed by, she seemed to become an odd-fish among our group.
Slippery as an eel
Meaning: This idiom describes someone who is deceitful and cannot be easily trusted by an individual.
Example: Every time I want to get it out of him, he dodges my question being as slippery as an eel.
Sounds fishy
Meaning: This idiom describes the feeling of suspicion posed towards a specific person or situation in any environment.
Example: He said he was no doubt telling the truth about his girlfriend’s accident, but something sounded fishy.
Squashed like sardines
Meaning: This idiom describes a situation or a place where there’s a massive crowd in a small area, making people squashed together.
Example: We thought the venue would be larger, but we were squashed like sardines.
Teach a man to fish
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of consistently teaching or educating an individual to do something of a particular area rather than doing the job yourself.
Example: If you really value his decision so much, go ahead and teach him how to fish.
There are plenty of other fish in the sea
Meaning: This idiom means that there are way too many alternatives to choose from that will suit someone’s liking.
Example: If you don’t like her, just break up; there are plenty of fish in the sea, Joshua.
To be crooked as a barrel of fish hooks
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who is dishonest, untruthful, deceitful. In simpler words, it refers to someone who cannot be trusted by people.
Example: His ways have me thinking he might be as crooked as a barrel of fish hooks.
To be neither fish nor fowl
Meaning: This idiom describes someone or something that does not have a definite place, and neither does it, or they fit into a specific category.
Example: All my classmates think he is neither fish nor fowl, and so he doesn’t have friends.
To drink like a fish
Meaning: This idiom describes someone who downs themselves in alcohol. In simpler words, people who consume a lot of alcohol are said to drink like fish.
Example: My sister can drink like a fish, but she somehow manages to remain sober.
To fish (someone or something) out of (someone or something)
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of trying to retrieve or find someone or something or to pull something or someone out.
Example: My baby sister’s hands were inside my pocket, trying to fish for chocolates.
To fish around
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of trying to uncover something or look for something.
Example: She was fishing around for her new earphones, but she realized she had left them at home.
To fish for compliments
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of making an attempt to acquire praise from people around them.
Example: He keeps talking about the same adverse incidents, and it feels like he tries to fish for compliments.
To fish for something
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of trying or making subsequent efforts to get some information out of someone.
Example: By the way, he spoke, it seemed genuine at first, but soon I felt like he was trying to fish for attention.
To fish in troubled waters
Meaning: This idiom describes the situation where an individual gets involved in someone else’s difficulties or problems.
Example: He loves to show off his cars which is why he got caught in the big robbery trying to fish in troubled waters.
To fish or cut bait
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of going on to make an important decision and quit being hesitant about it.
Example: I told him to cut bait when it came to following his heart.
To fish-tail
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of moving a vehicle back and forth like the rapid movement of the tail of a fish.
Example: The new driver fishtailed more than ten minutes to park the vehicle successfully.
To have better fish to fry
Meaning: This idiom describes the action of declaring that there are more vital things to be done at the moment.
Example: I’m sorry the meeting was so short today, please don’t mind, I have bigger, better fish to fry.
To leap like a salmon
Meaning: This idiom describes someone who can fly or take a graceful leap without any sort of difficulty.
Example: She leaped like a salmon and landed gracefully, winning the figure skating championship.
To need something like a fish needs a bicycle
Meaning: This idiom describes something or someone not needed by an individual simply because they do not hold much value.
Example: My dad bought me the latest iPhone, but I needed it like a fish needs a bicycle.
To sleep with the fishes
Meaning: This idiom describes the act of murdering or killing someone and dumping their bodies into any source of water, such as a specific river, lake, or an ocean.
Example: He was proved not guilty but my brother thinks he is about to sleep with the fishes.
What’s that got to do with the price of fish?
Meaning: This idiom describes a rhetorical question posed towards an individual who makes a remark which is proved to be irrelevant with the topic of discussion.
Example: We have come to discuss about sports here, not banking, what’s that got to do with the price of fish?
Like a stunned mullet
Meaning: This idiom describes a dazed, shocked, stupefied, confused or surprise look on someone’s face.
Example: When he found out he could sing he appeared like a stunned mullet.
Green around the gills
Meaning: This idiom describes an individual who appears pale due to being somewhat nervous, afraid or I’ll.
Example: Are you sure you are well rested? You look green around the gills.
Holy mackerel!
Meaning: This idiom is a phrase of exclamation used to symbolize surprise or extreme shock.
Example: He shouted, ‘holy mackerel! We won the game!’.