Fifteen Bear Idioms to Celebrate Katmai National Park’s Fat Bear Week 2022

Katmai National Park in Alaska celebrates Fat Bear Week with an annual competition between the fattest bears getting ready for the winter in their park. The purpose of this annual event is to celebrate conservation and the resilience of these cute bears. The public can vote for their favorite bear between October 4 - October 11. If you want to learn more, please go to https://explore.org/fat-bear-week. 

I simply love the idea, the bears, and animals in general, so I have decided to contribute to Fat Bear Week in my own way by teaching my English students and clients about English idioms and expressions related to bears. I thought this would not only be a fun way to dive into some new vocabulary to improve your English but also to teach you a little bit about American humor (yes, we love cute animals!).

So now let’s get started to learn some bear idioms:

Extra English pronunciation tip: The “ea” in bear (the verb and the noun) is pronounced almost the same way as the “e” in red. Do not pronounce it as in green!

1. Busy as a hibernating bear (to hibernate = this is how bears spend their winters. They hibernate). Meaning: To suggest that someone is not busy at all.

Example sentence: "Sarah has been off work for a week now. I called her up to invite her over for dinner, but she said she was busy. “That’s odd! Since she has been off work; she is about as busy as a hibernating bear."

2. A bear market. Meaning: Bear market is a financial term. It refers to investors feeling pessimistic so they are more likely to sell than buy shares.

Example sentence: "Tracy should have sold those shares earlier. Now she won’t make a big profit anymore. It’s a bear market after all."

3. To grin and bear it. Meaning: To suggest that someone should endure something unpleasant with a good attitude. To smile even if the situation is horrible.

Example Sentence: "I don't like this situation, but I guess I will just have to grin and bear it until my horrible neighbor moves out.”

4. Bear the brunt. Meaning: This phrase describes having to endure the worst of something.

Example Sentence: "I am so sorry that you will have to bear the brunt of this horrible situation. I wish I could help more.”

5. To bear (or hold) a grudge. Meaning: Someone is angry about something and unwilling to forget or forgive.

Example Sentence: "I know I made a horrible mistake, but I really didn’t want to hurt you. I also understand if you are still bearing a grudge against me. I just hope one day you will be able to forgive me.” 

6. Hungry as a bear. Meaning: To be super hungry

Example sentence: "I need to order some food.  I'm as hungry as a bear."

7. To grab the bear by the tail. Meaning: This phrase suggests that a person has to make an important or difficult decision.

Example Sentence: "I know it has been difficult for John to make this decision, but he will simply have to grab the bear by its tail and get it done."

8. To bear in mind. Meaning: To consider something as an option. To keep it into consideration.

Example sentence: "You will have to bear in mind that if we launch a huge building project in this neighborhood, there will be huge consequences for the people living here.”

9. To bear the scars Meaning: To experience emotional pain.

Example: "She was in a horrible train accident last year. She walked away without any physical injuries, but her emotional scars are still significant. She still can’t even think about taking the train anywhere. She still bears the scars of her traumatic experience."

10. To poke the bear  Meaning: To deliberately offend or make someone angry.

Example sentence: "To not poke the bear, we should try to be very diplomatic during our meeting."

11. To bear fruit. Meaning: To express that hard work can yield successful results.

Example sentence: "Keep up the good work! You have been doing a stellar (=fantastic) job. I just know that all your hard work will bear fruit one day."

12. To bear witness (to someone doing something/to something). Meaning: To witness something; to offer statements to testify to the truth of something.

Example sentence: "She can bear witness to the fact that the war had horrible consequences for her country."

13. To have a cross to bear. Meaning: To carry a burden.

Example sentence: "I know that it's difficult always having to take care of elderly relatives, but we all have a cross to bear.”

14. To give someone a bear hug. Meaning: To hug someone tightly in a show of affection.

Example sentence: "She wrapped his arms around him and gave him a huge bear hug to welcome him home.”

15. To bear responsibility for something. Meaning: To be responsible for something

Example sentence: "She bears responsibility for her decisions including her mistakes.”