'Milk It' with these Fun, Useful Cow Phrases
There are more than 1 billion cows in the world.
We all know what they look and sound like, but they're also used in lots of English phrases!
In fact, we could talk about phrases like these "until the cows come home," which means "for a very long time."
This phrase may come from the way that cows walk slowly back to be milked at the end of the day.
Or it may be used because, long ago, cows were allowed to graze for months before they returned home in the fall.
Another idea is that if a cow runs away it won't come back, and you could be waiting forever. So we often use this phrase to talk about things we think may never happen.
A "cash cow" might also go on forever. This phrase is used to describe something that will be a reliable, lasting source of income, in the same way that a cow has lasting value because its milk can be sold again and again.
And if you're trying to get everything you can from that cash cow, or something else, we could say you're "milking it."
It's not usually used in a positive way. For example, if someone is feeling a little sick but they spend all day complaining and asking people to bring them things, they might be "milking it."
If they complain too much, other people might "have a beef with them," which means to have a disagreement and feel very unhappy about the situation.
One way to make that situation better could be with the phrase "don't have a cow," which means "calm down." However, it could also make things worse — especially since it was popularized by Bart from The Simpsons, who isn't known for being too sensitive toward others' feelings!
