Our backyard poultry have infiltrated many aspects of our lives. They have their own feed stores, their own medical complexes and even their own departments within many extension offices. They have also long been living inside our daily colloquialisms, and if you really listen closely, we can’t stop talking about our birds.
It started in elementary school for me. Our fifth grade teacher, who was all bark and no bite, opened a large can of worms when she asked, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” Going around the circle my classmates responded, egg, chicken, egg, egg, chicken. I responded with a statement, rather than an answer: “I want a pet chicken!”
All my peers giggled and thought I was the cat’s pajamas.
I didn’t want to let the cat out of the bag; obviously it was the chicken first. My statement surely didn’t make me the teacher’s pet, but I moved on up to the next grade level. Sixth grade was middle school and with a different building, I was no longer a big fish in a small pond. At home, I adopted three Call ducklings. I was busy as a beaver caring for them and they stayed healthy as a horse.
I cared for ducks, chickens and pigeons at my home from middle school all the way up to college. I loved them so much I become a vegetarian and started eating like a bird. High school moved at a snail’s pace, and then it was time to fly the coop.
Although birds of a feather flock together, my classmates were all headed in different directions.
Grabbing the bull by its horns, I attended University at Buffalo and treated the world as my oyster.
After college, little birds told me of job opportunities and I worked at two zoos and an aquarium. But I wanted to try my hand at teaching. As I teach, I pick up many poultry idioms. I hope you can use these idioms in your daily lives. I don’t want to beat a dead horse, but I hope you have a whale of a time reading.
Ready to Start Your Own Backyard Flock?
Get tips and tricks for starting your new flock from our chicken experts. Download your FREE guide today! YES! I want this Free Guide »
CHICKEN AND EGG
BEING UP WITH THE CHICKENS
To get up particularly early, most likely prior to sunrise
CHICKEN-HEARTED
Cowardly
COCK SURE
To brag, arrogantly confident
DON’T COUNT YOUR CHICKENS BEFORE THEY HATCH
A warning to those who jump to positive conclusions
EGG ON YOUR FACE
Caught in a lie
EMPTY NEST SYNDROME
Feelings of loneliness when children move out
FOR CHICKEN FEED
For nearly nothing, cheap
HATCH AN IDEA
Create a plan
HAVE TO BREAK EGGS TO MAKE AN OMELET
Have to get messy to get something done
HEN CACKLE
To laugh, hoot
LIKE A CHICKEN WITH A PIP
In low spirits, in a weak or sickened manner
NEITHER CHICK NOR CHILD
Childless, without a child or pet
NEST EGG
To save money
NO SPRING CHICKEN
A person past their prime, an older person
ONE DAY CHICKEN AND THE NEXT DAY FEATHERS
The ebbs and flows of owning something valuable
RAISE YOUR HACKLE FEATHERS
To show your emotions outwardly
RULES OF THE ROOST
Household rules
SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT
Exciting news to tell
SUNNY-SIDE UP
Cheerful attitude
LIKE CHICKEN SCRATCH
Messy handwriting
ALL THE EGGS IN ONE BASKET
A single bet or investment that leaves nothing left
CHICKEN WITH ITS HEAD CUT OFF
Uncontrollable
COMING HOME TO ROOST
Getting what is due, as in karma
______________________________________________________________________________
TURKEY
COLD TURKEY
To quit abruptly
TALK TURKEY
To speak business
TO GOBBLE SOMETHING UP
To eat with enthusiasm
______________________________________________________________________________
DUCK
HAVE YOUR DUCKS IN A ROW
To be organized
LIKE A DUCK ON A JUNE BUG
All over something
LIKE WATER OFF A DUCK’S BACK
Easy, without an apparent effect
ODD DUCK
A rather unusual, strange, or peculiar person
SITTING DUCK
Someone or something vulnerable to attack
______________________________________________________________________________
GOOSE
A WILD GOOSE NEVER LAID A TAME EGG
Something will not be spontaneously different from where it came from
GOLDEN GOOSE
Something that has a lot of potential
GOOSE EGG
A raised bump on the skull, scored zero in a game
GOOSE FLESH, GOOSE PIMPLES
Goosebumps
SILLY GOOSE
Foolish
WHAT’S GOOD FOR THE GOOSE IS GOOD FOR THE GANDER
A belief in equality
WILD GOOSE CHASE
To send someone on a pointless search
______________________________________________________________________________
FOWL
NEITHER FISH, FLESH OR FOWL
Not belonging to any suitable class or description
RUN FOWL OF
To be in disagreement, trouble or difficulty
FOWL LANGUAGE
A terrible pun we used as a headline
Kenny Coogan, CPBT-KA, is a pet and garden columnist and has been fascinated with the English language for years. Some of his favorite words are crepuscular, cauliflory and coprophagy. He cares for 15 birds on his one acre homestead. Please search “Critter Companions by Kenny Coogan” on Facebook to learn more.
The post We Try To Put All the Poultry Clichés and Idioms in One Basket appeared first on Countryside Network.
