Letter: Animals are important to our vocabulary

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Editor,

Animals are much more than pets and protein. They provide a part of our vocabulary that is critical to our ability to clarify, compliment and cast aspersions. For example, if you’re too weary to continue working, you simply say you’re dog tired and everyone will know you need a rest, or if you want to criticize someone for extreme obstinance, simply refer to them as stubborn as a mule.

Someone with a lack of confidence is sheepish and someone who is spiteful or malicious is catty. A chicken is more than an accoutrement to a main dish, it’s also a person acting in a timid or fearful manner. Calling someone a chicken can be used to provoke them into doing something they are hesitant to do. Calling someone a bird brain obviously means their brain is too small to function effectively.

Most of the bills passed by the House and Senate in the last few years could reasonably be referred to as lipstick on a pig: superficial changes to something in a futile attempt to disguise its fundamental flaws. You could also call the most recent State of the Union message lies, exaggerated foolishness, insincere nonsense, or waste matter excreted from the bowels of a large male cow, or, simply BS.

Verrall Hoover

Langley