Frequencies of English animal epithets[1] Animal Group Group frequency Simile relative frequency Simile examples Metaphor relative frequency Metaphor examples Canidae 13% 49% as hungry as a wolf; as friendly as a puppy 51% dog-tired; sly fox; vixen; bitch; dog; lone wolf Birds 13% 35% as black as a raven; to jabber like a bunch of blackbirds 65% to parrot; cuckoo; aquiline; to swan about; bird-brained; the vultures are circling; (warmaking) hawk versus (peacemaking) dove Insects 7% 81% as busy as a bee; to sting like a hornet 19% louse; cockroach; (inconstant) butterfly; (unfaithful [hopping from one partner to another]) grasshopper Farmyard animals 41% 54% as strong as an ox; to follow like a sheep; stubborn as a mule; gentle as a lamb; happy as a pig in muck 46% to horse around; greedy pig; silly ass; a turkey (that will never fly); bovine; sheepish; mutton dressed as lamb Other animals 7% 50% as slow as a snail gruff as a bear 50% to ape; snake in the grass; speak with a forked tongue; snake; (adaptable) chameleon; worm Aquatic animals 6% 57% flipping like a flounder; to swim like a fish 43% fishy; in shoals; (ugly) toad; (small) shrimp Cats 8% 40% as brave as a lion 60% catty Glires (rodents and lagomorphs) 5% 62% mad as a (March) hare; to breed like a rabbit happy as a mouse in cheese 38% frightened rabbit; squirrel/to squirrel away