sheep — Figures of Speech:

1.

sheep (noun)  =

(a)  a timid, weak person

(b)  a person who is easily cheated or controlled

(c)  a person or a group of people who is/are unable to make decisions but follows/follow someone readily; a person or people without minds or thinking of their own

2.

like sheep  [said of a group of people allowing a single person to dictate or control their actions]

3.

the black sheep (of a family or group)  =  a person who brings disgrace (bad name)  to the family or group

4.

to black-sheep (verb)  =  to take someone’s job, chance, etc.

5.

the lost sheep  =

(a)  a failure (in doing or achieving something)

(b)  a person that escapes from someone

6.

sheepshank  =

(a)  a worthless person

(b)  a kind of knot

7.

sheep shagger  =  a man who has sex with sheep (not to be used in formal occasions) {an insult used by Australians to New Zealanders, or English people to the Welsh people}

8.

sheepish [said of someone who is mentally uncomfortable because one is embarrassed or fearful of others, or being in the wrong]

9.

mutton-head  =  a stupid person  {‘mutton’ is the meat of sheep eaten by people}

10.

to bleat  =  to complain in a timid way {‘bleat’ is the voice or call of a sheep}

11.

as silly as a sheep

12.

as white as a flock of sheep

13.

to separate/sort out the sheep from the goats =  to choose or pick out members of a group who are believed to be good or superior; to separate the good people from the bad ones

14.

as ragged/mazed as a sheep (‘ragged’/’mazed’, in this context, = confused; dazed)

15.

to stand as thick as sheep in fold    (‘fold’, in this context, = a place where sheep are kept)

16.

thrang as flukes in a sheep’s liver (‘thrang’ = crowded, many in number in a small place; ‘fluke’, in this context, = “liver fluke”  = a parasitic flatworm)

17.

to follow like a sheep  =  to do something or to follow somebody without doubt or question

18.

may (or might) hang for a sheep as for a lamb [said to mean that one may as well go ahead and do something very wrong or a bigger wrong if the punishment is the same for doing something less or smaller wrong]

19.

if one sheep leaps over the dike (fence) the rest will follow [said of a bad example that is too readily followed]

20.

to make (or cast) sheep’s eyes at someone =  to behave fondly towards a person, but in a foolish or awkward way

21.

a lazy sheep thinks its wool heavy [said of someone lazy who finds fault even with an advantage]

22.

it’s a fair flock that has no black sheep  [said of a decent society with no bad members; when there are no bad people in a society, we call that one a good (fair) society]  (‘flock’, in this context, = a group of sheep)

23.

sheep could eat grass through it {‘it’, in this context, is a piece of garment} [said of a very thin and poor quality piece of cloth or some clothes]

24.

coupled sheep drown each other [said of as a comment on the dangerous or possible risks of making friends or having association with some (bad) people]

25.

to fleece your wool off another sheep [an expression said to warn a cheat, implying: “I have understood your trick, so try another innocent person, not me!”]  (‘fleece’, in this context, = to cheat, to take away all)

26.

better to give the wool than the sheep [said as a piece of advice to someone to mean that it is better to lose a little or cut down losses instead of losing everything]

27.

the lone sheep is in danger of wolf [said to mean that a person needs some friends and relatives]

28.

to keep the sheep by moonlight  =  to hang somebody in chains [in England]

29.

to shear the sheep too close  =  to force someone too hard for some information; to enquire too deeply in a sensitive or dangerous matter (‘shear’, in this context, = to shave, to cut the hair; ‘close’, in this context, = close to the base, to cut the hair very short)

30.

to return to our sheep (or mutton) [said in a meeting or discussion advising the members to get back to the original point of discussion, after some interruption]

31.

to steal a sheep and give away the totters for God’s sake [said of a petty charity of a rich but dishonest person to mean that he cheats others very much and gets lots of profit, but, as an ‘eye wash’, gives away very little money to the poor]

32.

it is a foolish sheep that makes the wolf its confessor [said as a pieces of advice to someone not to show one’s weakness to one’s opponent or enemy]

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