appear very threatening; however, weasels can kill and eat animals four times their
size.
Weasels sometimes dance before they kill their prey. Maybe that is why Americans
say “weasel out” when we mean “try to avoid something in a dishonest way.”
By the way, you can also weasel your way into something. That means try every
trick to accomplish your goal, even if it something you really do not deserve.
But back to my weasely ways. Anna would not accept my excuses. She would not
let me avoid the work I promised to do. That is to say, she would not let me duck my
obligation.
She hounded me. She dogged me day and night. She told our colleagues about
my bad behavior, and they began to badger me about the program,
too.
As you can imagine, “to hound” or “to dog” people is to pursue them. For example,
hunting hounds find and chase creatures such as foxes, birds and raccoons. And if
a hound traps these animals, he will rarely let them go. Hounding someone usually
involves asking something again and again.
“To badger” someone has a similar meaning. A badger is related to a weasel but is
bigger and fatter. A badger is also not as violent as a weasel; however, if a badger
seizes something in its teeth, it holds on tight and won’t let go. Americans say they
are badgering someone when they are insistent, but not aggressive.
Eventually, everyone’s badgering affected me. Besides, I was worried Anna
might rat me out and tell our boss I was an unreliable colleague. The word “rat” in
this expression probably relates to a belief that rats cannot be trusted. Rats in the
U.S. have a bad reputation, whether or not they deserve it.
Anyway, I finally sat down to write the program. Fortunately, like the animal that
collects nuts and saves them for the winter, I had squirreled away some ideas.
They included fish, such as in the expression “fish for compliments,” and worm, as
in “I will worm my way into his heart,” as if I am tunneling with determination through
the dirt.
Americans also shark, or fool, others, especially by pretending they are not good at
something when they really are. And of course, we can bug people: bother them like
a mosquito or a fly buzzing in an irritating way.
But now I have hogged Anna’s program enough – selfishly taken more than I was
really allowed or invited to. So I will close this episode of Words and Their Stories –
but please do write to us if you ferret out a few more examples of animals that are
also verbs.