The Lexicon
The Faunamorph & Floramorph Lexicon is an independent project gathering thousands of words and phrases that refer to the animal and plant world to describe something other than the actual animal or plant.
The project has been a work in progress for over 30 years. It's latest stage of evolution is this site, which will house the collection of over 10,000 entries. Soon, visitors will be able to search the entire lexicon, use language learning tools, play games, and generally explore the world of words and idioms. For now, until the lexicon is fully polished and uploaded, enjoy discovering a curated selection.
We monkey around, aping one another, howling about it being a dog’s life, and acting like cool cats, but we’re really only winging it; so hold your horses, you’re a lucky dog and the cat’s meow even if you are henpecked and having a total cow about it; consequently, I say holy mackerel you silly goose! – be bullish about fledgling ideas from a sheepish, wooly-headed silverback who runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, wanting you to be just as snug as a bug in a rug having more fun than a barrel full of…
…monkeys!
 LION FISH |  COOL CATS |  A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR |
|---|---|---|
 MONKEY AROUND |  CROCODILE TEARS |  WOLF IN SHEEPS CLOTHING |
 TIGER BUTTERFLY |  LOVE BIRDS |  When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. |
Evaristo Nugkuag - Aguaruna Indian and first president of COICA
(Coordinadora de Organzaciones Indígenas de la Cuenca Amazónica - Indigenous Coordinating Organization of the Amazon Basin)
THE PHILOSOPHY
Our language reveals who we are…and who we think we are.
Harvesting, sifting, and winnowing faunamorphs and floramorphs can be an immensely enjoyable endeavor for a wordshark; searching woods and field for them is a treasure hunt. And they can teach us a lot about human nature and how we naked apes (faunamorph) view and misconstrue the animal kingdom and the plant world (not fauna- or floramorphs), from which we stem and in which we are deeply rooted (two floramorphs).
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