Idioms about Birds: Part 2
This week we’re looking at thirty more idioms about birds. Click here to learn the thirty idioms we looked at last week.
- night owl – someone who stays up late, someone who functions better at night
- pecking order – the social hierarchy
- rare bird – an unusual person
- sitting duck – an easy target, someone who is vulnerable to target
- spring chicken – a young person
- swan song – a final work/performance before retirement/death
- to chicken out – to opt out of doing something due to being frightened
- to clip someone’s wings – to limit someone’s control/freedom
- to count your chickens before they’re hatched – to depend on/make plans for something that you have not yet received/that has not yet been confirmed
- to eat crow – to be humiliated, to admit defeat, to admit you are mistaken
- to eat like a bird – to eat very little
- to fly the coop – to escape
- to get your ducks in a row – to put your affairs in order
- to kill the goose that lays the golden egg – to destroy a valuable source of income
- to kill two birds with one stone – to accomplish two objectives at once
- to look like the cat that swallowed the canary – to look very pleased/satisfied with oneself
- to play chicken – to play a game in which the first person to withdraw from a frightening or dangerous situation loses
- to quit cold turkey – to abruptly and completely give something up
- to ruffle someone’s feathers – to annoy or upset someone
- to rule the roost – to be in charge
- to run around like a chicken with its head cut off – to run around frantically and aimlessly
- to spread your wings – to become independent/to pursue new interests and activities
- to take someone under your wing – to take someone into your protective care, to take someone under your guidance
- to talk turkey – to discuss something frankly
- to try out your wings – to independently do something that you have recently learned/received a qualification in
- to watch someone/something like a hawk – to watch someone/something very closely
- to wing it – to improvise
- ugly duckling – someone who is considered ugly or plain as a child but grows up to be beautiful
- what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander – what is good/appropriate in one case is also good/appropriate in the other case in question
- wild goose chase – a hopeless search for something that is likely unattainable
If you found this post useful, why not take a look at some of our other articles about idioms?
04 Mar 2018
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