lamb

be as gentle as a lamb

to be very calm and kind. I thought she was gentle as a lamb until I heard her shouting at Richard.

See also: gentle

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. 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: hung, might, sheep, well

in two shakes (of a lamb's tail) (old-fashioned, old-fashioned)

very soon. I'll be with you in two shakes of a lamb's tail.

See also: shake, two

like a lamb

if you go somewhere that you are being forced to go like a lamb, you go there calmly and without complaining. I thought I was going to have to drag her screaming to school but when the time came she went like a lamb.

See also: like

like a lamb to the slaughter

something that you say about someone who does something or goes somewhere calmly and happily, not knowing that something unpleasant is going to happen to them. Here comes the bride, like a lamb to the slaughter.

See also: like

mutton dressed (up) as lamb (British, informal)

an offensive way of saying that a woman is dressed in a style that is more suitable for a much younger woman. Do you think this skirt is too short? I don't want to look like mutton dressed as lamb.

See also: dress