- "Gallopin' Gorgons" - play on "galopin' gals."
- "Cat among the pixies" - play on "cat among the pigeons," meaning to do something to cause a lot of people bother or worry.
- "Wasn't room to swing a Kneazle"- play on "no room to swing a cat", meaning it is very cramped.
- "Fell off the back of a broom" - synonymous with "fell off the back of a truck," meaning stolen merchandise.
- "Galloping gargoyles" - used to express outraged shock.
- "Get off his high hippogriff" - synonymous with "get off his high horse," meaning to stop being conceited.
- "Hanged for a dragon as an egg" - synonymous with "hanged for a sheep as a lamb;" if one is to be punished for committing minor offence anyway, one may as well go ahead with something even worse if it gets the job done better.
- "Hold your hippogriffs" - synonymous with "hold your horses;" a request to wait for an explanation.
- "It's no good crying over spilt potion" - synonymous with "it's no good crying over spilt milk," meaning it is no use worrying about unfortunate events which have already happened and which cannot be changed.
- "I wouldn't come near you with a ten-foot broomstick" - synonymous with "ten foot pole" in the Muggle world. Used in reference to someone or something that is considered unapproachable or offensive.
- "Like bowtruckles on doxy eggs" - play on the Muggle phrase "like white on rice," which means to stick to someone or something very closely.
- "Merlin's beard" - expression of surprise, synonymous with the Muggle phrase "God's blood!" Also, "Merlin's pants," "Merlin's most baggy Y Fronts," and "Merlin's saggy left…" are more crass variants of this proclamation.
- "Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots" - play on the Muggle phrase "a leopard can't change its spots," meaning that one can't change basic aspects of their character, particularly negative ones.
- "The fire's lit, but the cauldron's empty" - play on the Muggle phrase "the lights are on, but nobody's home," meaning someone seems to function correctly, but is actually somewhat dim.
- "To have a hairy heart" - means to be cold and unfeeling. Derived from the Beedle the Bard story The Warlock's Hairy Heart, in which a wizard cuts out his heart and seals it away in a crystal box, causing it to grow hair.
- "Time is Galleons" - synonymous with "time is money," a Muggle adage about the time value of money.
- "I'm so hungry I could eat a hippogriff" - synonymous with "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" and the like, meaning so hungry that one could eat something as large as a hippogriff.
- "Yanking your wand" - synonymous with "yanking your chain," meaning to joke around.
- "Tip of the dungheap" - a small piece of a larger picture. Play on "tip of the iceberg".
- "Whats got your wand in a knot?" - A muggles term for "whats got your knickers in a twist?" Expressing ones curiousity as to why an individual is acting ill-tempered.
aug 7 2012 ∞
may 25 2013 +