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Changing the conversation

Compassionate Clichés

You've heard them, learned them, and said them. Many everyday expressions imply harm to animals. Here are 99 kinder ways to say the same thing.

Kill two birds with one stone
Feed two birds with one scone
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
  • A trickster in a kind disguise
Ants in your pants
  • Pepper in your pants
Beating a dead horse
  • Feeding a full horse
  • It's like trying to revive a cold case
  • 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
  • Never put all your 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
  • Bake two cakes in one pan
  • Bake two desserts in one oven
  • Brighten two hearts with one smile
  • Chop two onions with one knife
  • Create a forest with one seed
  • Cross two hurdles with one leap
  • Dig two holes with one shovel
  • Eat two grapes with one mouth
  • Eat two jelly beans with one mouth
  • Feed two birds with one scone
  • Feed two cats with one bowl
  • Fill two needs with one deed
  • Free two birds with one key
  • Get two giggles from one tickle
  • Get two outs with one pitch
  • Grab two scoops with one pass
  • Grow two plants with one seed
  • Heal two wounds with one kiss
  • Hop two stones with one foot
  • Ice two cakes with one spoon
  • Leap two mountains with one jump
  • Lift two spirits with one kind word
  • Light two candles with one flame
  • Love ten people with one heart
  • Love two animals with one heart
  • Make two people laugh with one joke
  • Make two wishes upon one star
  • Mash two potatoes with one fork
  • Pay two bills with one check
  • Plant two trees with one seed
  • Send two emails with one click
  • Slice two carrots with one knife
  • Smell two flowers with one nose
  • Solve two problems with one solution
  • Surf two waves with one board
  • Take two steps with one foot
  • Talk to two people with one phone
  • Throw two strikes with one pitch
  • Tie two loose ends at once
  • Unite two people with one hope
  • Water two plants with one hose
  • Welcome two friends with one open door
Land of milk and honey
  • Land of silk and agave
  • Land of sweet abundance
Neither fish nor fowl
  • 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 washing a clean shirt
  • 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 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 in circles
Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander
  • Sauce for the peach is sauce 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 peel a potato
  • There's more than one way to skin a kiwi
  • There's more than one way to bake a cake
  • There's more than one way to catch a crook
  • There's more than one way to cook tofu
  • There's more than one way to dive into a pool
  • There's more than one way to knit a sweater
  • There's more than one way to make a bed
  • There's more than one way to peel an orange
  • There's more than one way to pet 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 kindness
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 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

Speak kind words and you will hear kind echoes. Have one to add? Share it with #wearnoharm.

Keep going
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