weasel:
Weasels are powerful animals for their size; they are known to kill animals bigger than they are by biting on the back on the neck, and are known to defend themselves from animals much bigger than themselves, including bears, porcupines and people!!
The weasel’s narrow, supple body helps it to go into the narrow burrows of its prey.
Weasels can suck up the contents of an egg without breaking the egg-shell!
Those sub-species of weasel which turn (moult) their fur white in winter are called ermine. However, those species that are found in the United Kingdom do not turn (moult) their fur white – their fur (coat) colour stays the same in all seasons!
Weasels are very useful animals. They keep the numbers of the rodents and other pests, animals that damage the crops, under control by eating them up in large numbers.
As weasels have a bad reputation of killing the poultry (= the farm birds) indiscriminately (= more than they actually can eat or need), most farmers hate them and persecute them.
The pelts of the weasels also contribute to the fur trade, not a major source, or not very much favoured like that of the others of the same ‘super family’, such as mink, though.
Weasels are also favourite characters in comics, cartoons and animated or feature films (motion pictures) – ‘I am weasel’ and ‘Dr. Dolittle 2’, just to name a few!
1. weasel (noun) =
(a) not a frank (straight-forward) person; a cheat; a dangerous person
(b) a misleading statement, especially in advertisements
(c) a weaver’s shuttle and bobbin, a kind of tool a weaver uses in weaving {Some language experts believe that ‘weasel’ in the popular rhyme “Pop goes the Weasel!”, is actually this tool of a weaver, and the ‘monkey’ is actually a coat.}
2. to weasel (verb) = to be evasive; equivocate (= being secretive; trying to avoid trouble; avoiding to say anything directly or clearly)
3. weasel out (phrasal verb) = to back out of a situation or commitment in a cowardly manner; to take back a word or promise
4. weasel-faced = a person’s face with sharp, (narrow) thin features, usual in negative sense (with a negative connotation), usually said of a person one does not like
5. weasel-word(s) = some misleading phrase; a comment that is made to cover the real meaning; a comment that is unclear
6. as cross/sharp as a weasel (‘cross’, in this context = angry; ‘sharp’, in this context = smart)
7. bit by a barn weasel [said of person who is quite drunk – having too alcohol]
8. catch a weasel asleep [said of a very careful people who achieve what is almost impossible]
More from Animals in Language
Python
python: a large python a kind of snake -- reptile -- usually large, muscular and powerful -- grows to 1 metre …
Animals-Adder-Aye-Aye
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T …
