sheep (redirected from Counting sheep)

black sheep of the family

Fig. the worst member of the family. Mary is the black sheep of the family. She's always in trouble with the police. He keeps making a nuisance of himself. What do you expect from the black sheep of the family?

See also: black, family

might as well be hung for a sheep as (for) a lamb

Rur. might as well commit a large fault as a small one, since the same punishment will result. I'll take the expensive fishing rod. My wife will be mad at me no matter how much I spend, so I might as well be hung for a sheep as for a lamb.

See also: hung, lamb, might, well

separate the men from the boys and separate the sheep from the goats

Fig. to separate the competent from those who are less competent. (Not necessarily just about males.) This is the kind of task that separates the men from the boys. Working in a challenging place like this really separates the sheep from the goats.

See also: boy, men, separate

wolf in sheep's clothing

Fig. a dangerous person pretending to be harmless. Carla thought the handsome stranger was gentle and kind, but Susan suspected he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. Mimi: Why shouldn't I go out with David? He's the nicest man I've ever met. Alan: He's a wolf in sheep's clothing, Mimi. Can't you tell?

See also: clothing, wolf

---

a wolf in sheep's clothing

someone who seems to be pleasant and friendly but is in fact dangerous or evil My next boss, on the surface very warm and charming, proved to be something of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

See also: clothing, wolf

I might as well be hanged/hung for a sheep as a lamb.

something that you say when you are going to be punished for something so you decide to do something worse because your punishment will not be any more severe

Usage notes: In the past, people who stole lambs were killed, so it was worth stealing something more because there was no worse punishment.

I'm going to be late for work anyway, so I think I'll go to the shop for a paper. I might as well be hanged for a sheep as a lamb.

See also: hanged, lamb, might, well

make sheep's eyes at somebody   (old-fashioned)

to look at someone in a way that shows that you love them or are attracted to them Ken's been making sheep's eyes at his ex-girlfriend all night.

See also: eye, make

separate the sheep from the goats  (British, American & Australian) also sort (out) the sheep from the goats (British & Australian)

to choose the people or things of high quality from a group of mixed quality I'll look through the application forms and separate the sheep from the goats.

See also: goat, separate

the black sheep (of the family)

someone who is thought to be a bad person by the rest of their family My father was the black sheep - he ran away at 16 to become an actor and his parents never forgave him.

See also: black

---

a wolf in sheep's clothing

someone or something that seems to be good but is actually bad The financial advisor we hired turned out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing who stole from the people he promised to help.

See also: clothing, wolf

separate the men from the boys

to show which people in a group can do something difficult and which people cannot The five-day camping trip next month should separate the men from the boys!

See also: boy, men, separate