I am not going to lie to you : Not all bugs are created equal . We like some insects and hate others . For example , if you see a big cockroach run across the floor , you might run for the insecticide spray . But if you see a brightly colored butterfly landing on a flower outside your window , you probably will not spray it with poison . So today , we are not going to talk about cockroaches . Let's talk about butterflies instead ! Butterflies are beautiful both in their appearance and movements . This means they move their wings back and forth very quickly . The word “flutter ” even goes very nicely with the word “butterfly .” Butterflies flutter by . Other things can flutter , like a sail on a boat that flutters in the wind . Flutter can also mean to move in an uneven , irregular way . When two people are in love , you can say their hearts are “all a flutter .” This fluttering movement led to the expression “to have butterflies in your stomach .” This means you feel nervous . It feels like you have butterflies fluttering around inside you . To have butteries in your stomach is a common expression , so much so that we often just say we have butterflies . For example , if I am nervous before speaking in public , I can say , “I'm so nervous ! I have butterflies !” Butterflies can also flutter from one place to another . They do not spend too much time on one flower or plant . Some people do this as well . They flutter about , not spending too much time in once place too long … like a butterfly . That is where we get the term “social butterfly .” We use it to describe a person with a lot of friends and a lot of social engagements , like parties and get-togethers . These two butterfly expressions are fairly common and you can use them in any situation . But today , we will talk about another butterfly expression , one that is a little more … philosophical . We call this the Butterfly Effect . The butterfly effect is a theory . It claims that one small action can lead to major events . For example , a butterfly fluttering its wings can have a great effect -- like producing a storm -- in another part of the world . But this expression is not just used by great thinkers , you know , philosophers . Every small decision you make can have a butterfly effect in your own life . For example , let's say that one night you agree to meet friends at the movies . On the way , you stop to help a man with a broken bicycle . This makes you late and you miss the movie . But the man is thankful . He gives you his card and invites you to lunch . As it turns out , he is a book publisher who offers to look at a book you have just finished writing . Your stopping to help him led to events in your life happening very differently . Now , you may hear other expressions that mean about the same thing . We also have the ripple effect . If you throw something into a body of still water , it cause ripples in the water , one leading to the next . Then there is the domino effect . Dominoes is a game where you stack up domino tiles close to each other . You push one which falls into the next , which falls into the next , and so on and so on – until they are all down . The snowball effect is when something small gets worse and worse over time . Imagine a ball of snow rolling down a hill getting bigger and bigger as it collects more snow . We usually use “to snowball ” only for bad things . We use the others for both good and bad events . And you can use all of these in either formal or informal situations . One big difference is that we can say something dominoed , or snowballed or even rippled . Although that one is less common . However , we do not say something butterflied . For example , “The man could not have known that his not going into work would domino into a very interesting day .” These expressions are all chain reactions . They all mean that one thing leads to the next , to the next and so on .