Animal Idioms

General Notes:
*to turn on a dime = might be neutral / negative; more related to behavior / sports / cars. Yes. Basically it could change at any moment.
*seeing red VS blow a gasket VS hit the roof = all three a quite interchangeable; the first one will probably be mentioned together with the trigger the extreme anger.
*at a drop of a hat = immediately / without any preparation; can be used in relation to a skill - "I can deliver this speech at a drop of a hat".
*bite the bullet VS. grab the bull by its horns = the first relates to something more general, that you just put off / are lazy about, while the second relates to something that requires more bravery.
*doing an impression VS. doing an imitation = the former is more funny and light, mostly about the voice of a person, while the latter is more mean/hurtful; doing exactly what the other person does. Yes, although "imitation" doesn't necessarily have to be negative
*operative = the stress is on the first syllable ("o").

Animal Idioms:
*at a snail's pace = very slowly
*(going on) a wild goose chase = something which is impossible to catch/attain (e.g. the new iPhone). I think this is more referring to a situation in which someone sends you a long, complicated yet pointless mission. You kind of got it, but not quite.
*the world is an oyster = the world has many opportunities to offer; commonly used when talking to a young person, maybe right off of college.
*there is plenty of fish in the sea = there are many eligible partners out there!
*(it's a) dog eat dog world = when there is a very stiff competition (not necessarily about money).
*rat race = in contrast to the one above, it is more about a way of life that involves a competition for wealth and money. Mostly negative.
*to open a can of worms = to examine or attempt to solve some problem, only to inadvertently complicate it and create even more trouble.
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*busy as a bee / busy bee = a very busy and occupied person.
*watching (someone/something) like a hook = watching closely. I think this is watching like a hawk, the predator bird. Hawks have very good, sharp vision (and the meaning "watching closely" is exactly right).

Literally, the meaning is basically the same as "actually," but as a matter of fact, it also sort of implies a funny coincidence too :)

There is also a great new author called Allan Eskens, and his first book was The Life We Bury. That would be modern American English.

Dissatisfied is considered more correct. They have the same meaning, though.

People usually say this to mean "That's not important anymore, let's forget it." It's often used to say "No worries" or "I forgive you, let's move on" - something like that. If you imagine water moving under a bridge and flowing away, it's not important anymore. So that's the comparison.