Beef up
If something needs a little extra substance, this phrase neatly refers to strengthening or bolstering it.
Cash cow
A consistently profitable business, which is a good source of money with little input or work – akin to a high-yielding dairy cow. This phrase has largely replaced ‘milch cow’.
Herd mentality
Group thinking without individual differentiation, sometimes used to describe a crowd’s lack of sense.
Chew the cud
Cows chew over semi-digested food, or cud, at great leisure, appearing reflective while they do so. The phrase describes a social scenario where folk get together to chat. Ruminate – another word for chewing the cud – also means to think something through deeply.
Have beef
To complain or gripe – some say it originated when cattle farmers were having to compete with sheep farmers for precious land. There is…
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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2022