Compassionate Clichés: Changing the Conversation

December 30, 2017 6 min read

You’ve heard them. You’ve learned them. You’ve even said them. Some call them clichés. Sayings. Expressions. Idioms. All of them are meant to paint a picture that exaggerates a point. A way of further illustrating an idea.

Sadly, many of these expressions imply doing harm to animals. Regardless of how these offensive expressions became the “norm”, we challenged how they could be evolved with more compassionate alternatives. To be kind and express ourselves with words that are respectful of both people and animals.

We’ve compiled a list of 100 compassionate alternatives to those age-old, offensive, speciesist versions. Join the conversation and share any that you’ve come up with!

Speciesist Idiom / Proverb	Compassionate Replacement
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush	A berry in the hand is worth two in the bush
A wolf in sheep's clothing	Dahmer in a nice suit
Ants in your pants	Pepper in your pants
Beating a dead horse	Feeding a full horse
Beating a dead horse	It's like trying to revive a cold case
Beating a dead horse	Trying to push water uphill
Bringing home the bacon	Bringing home the Benjamins
Don't count your chickens before they hatch	Don't count your beans before they sprout
Don't let the cat out of the bag	keep it under your hat
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth	Don't look for bugs in a flower bouquet
Don't put all your eggs in one basket	Don't put all your vegetables in one soup
Don't put all your eggs in one basket	Never put all our berries in one bowl
Don't put the cart before the horse	Don't slice the bread before it's baked
Get to the meat of the issue	Get to the core of the issue
Give a man a fish and you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you’ll feed him for life.	Give a man a bean and you’ll feed him for a day. Teach a man to garden and you’ll feed him for life.
He who steals a calf steals a cow	He who crushes an acorn kills an oak
It's raining cats and dogs	It's raining rice and beans
Kill not the goose that lays the golden egg	Don't fell the tree that yields the sweetest fruit
Kill two birds with one stone	Achieve two tasks at one go
Kill two birds with one stone	Bake two cakes in one pan
Kill two birds with one stone	Bake two desserts in one oven
Kill two birds with one stone	Brighten two hearts with one smile
Kill two birds with one stone	Chop two onions with one knife
Kill two birds with one stone	Create a forest with one seed/tree
Kill two birds with one stone	Cross two hurdles with one leap
Kill two birds with one stone	Dig two holes with one shovel
Kill two birds with one stone	Eat two grapes with one mouth
Kill two birds with one stone	Eat two jelly beans with one mouth
Kill two birds with one stone	Feed two birds with one scone
Kill two birds with one stone	Feed two cats with one bowl
Kill two birds with one stone	Fill two needs with one deed
Kill two birds with one stone	Free two birds with one key
Kill two birds with one stone	Get two giggles from one tickle
Kill two birds with one stone	Get two outs with one pitch
Kill two birds with one stone	Grab two scoops with one pass
Kill two birds with one stone	Grow two plants with one seed
Kill two birds with one stone	Heal two wounds with one kiss
Kill two birds with one stone	Hop two stones with one foot
Kill two birds with one stone	Ice two cakes with one spoon
Kill two birds with one stone	Leap two mountains with one jump
Kill two birds with one stone	Lift two spirits with one kind word
Kill two birds with one stone	Light two candles with one flame
Kill two birds with one stone	Love ten people with one heart
Kill two birds with one stone	Love two animals with one heart
Kill two birds with one stone	Make two people laugh with one joke
Kill two birds with one stone	Make two wishes upon one star
Kill two birds with one stone	Mash two potatoes with one fork
Kill two birds with one stone	Pay two bills with one heck
Kill two birds with one stone	Plant two trees/flowers with one seed
Kill two birds with one stone	Send two emails with one click
Kill two birds with one stone	Slice two carrots with one knife
Kill two birds with one stone	Smell two flowers with one nose
Kill two birds with one stone	Solve two problems with one solution
Kill two birds with one stone	Surf two waves with one board
Kill two birds with one stone	Take two steps with one foot
Kill two birds with one stone	Talk to two people with one phone
Kill two birds with one stone	Throw two strikes with one pitch
Kill two birds with one stone	Tie two loose ends at once
Kill two birds with one stone	Unite two people with one hope
Kill two birds with one stone	Water two plants with one hose
Kill two birds with one stone	Welcome two friends with one open door
Land of milk and honey	Land of Silk and agave
Land of milk and honey	Land of sweet abundance
Neither fish nor foul	Neither greens nor grains
Never fish in troubled waters	Never fly a kite in a storm
No use crying over spilled milk	No use weeping over burnt toast
No use crying over spilled milk	No use washing a clean shirt
No use crying over spilled milk	No use watering a dead flower
On a wild goose chase	Out chasing rainbows
Opening a can of worms	Opening a can of spaghetti
Packed like sardines	Packed like a garlic clove
Packed like sardines	Packed like pickles
Quit cold turkey	Quit cold tofurkey
Running around like a chicken with its head cut off	Rolling around like a pig in mud
Running around like a chicken with its head cut off	Running around in circles
Running around like a chicken with its head cut off	Running around like a carrow with it's top cut off
Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander	Sauce for the peach is for the plum
Slippery as an eel	Slippery as oil
There's more than one fish in the sea	There's more than one leaf on the tree
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to climb a tree
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to peel a potato
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to skin a kiwi
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to bake a cake
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to catch a crook
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to cook tofu
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to dive into a pool
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to knit a sweater
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to make a bed
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to peel an orange
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to pet a cat
There's more than one way to skin a cat	There's more than one way to shine a penny
Walking on eggshells	Walking on broken glass
Winner, winner, chicken dinner	Winner, winner, tofu dinner
You are no spring chicken	You are no spring onion
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar	You can catch more smiles with nice than with nasty
You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink	You can sow fertile seeds, but you can't make them sprout
You can't get blood from a turnip	You can't get water from a stone
You can't make an omelet without breaking eggs	You can't make wine with without crushing grapes
You can't sell the cow and have the milk too	You can't sell the orchard and keep the apples too
You can't teach an old dog new tricks	You can't teach an old salad new tricks

When words are both true and kind, they can change our world.

Let’s change the conversation, spread compassion, and prove to the world how easy it is to speak kindly. ❤

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