11940
I heard the expression ネコでも分かる... mentioned in a TV drama as title for a
(fictional) book, in the sense of "...for dummies". A quick search on Amazon
brings up a few (real) titles ネコでも分かる... or サルでも分かる...

Is this an idiomatic expression you can use in day-to-day speech, or is this
just restricted to these lines of books by particular publishers? If this is a
normal speech pattern, are there any other animals commonly employed in this
context?
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2013-05-22T10:21:15.170
11939
2013-05-22T12:29:56.447
2929
question
colloquial-language idioms
Is ネコでも分かる・サルでも分かる idiomatic?
As your hunch says, this expression means "for dummies" in the sort of
"explained simply" meaning used principally for instructional materials, much
like the line of books in English. It seems predominantly to be used with サル
with some mentions of 猫. There are some other kind of punny ones for pandas
and dogs and sheep. It doesn't appear to be connected with a particular brand
like the "for dummies" line of books, but that's the meaning we can safely
assign to it.

In fact, I just checked alc and it says [exactly
that](http://eow.alc.co.jp/search?q=%E7%8C%BF%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82%E5%88%86%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8B):

> 猿でも分かる  
>  for dummies〔直訳すると「ばかな人のための」という意味で、解説書や教材のタイトルなどに使われる表現。例えば、Windows for
> Dummies（サルでも分かるWindows）、Excel for Dummies（サルでも分かるエクセル）、Oil Painting Set for
> Dummies（超初心者向け油絵セット）〕

For reference, here is a general [google
search](https://www.google.com/search?q=%E3%81%A7%E3%82%82%E5%88%86%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8B)
that shows the different varieties in action.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-05-22T12:29:56.447
11940
2013-05-22T12:29:56.447
1797
11939
answer