Idioms about Birds: Part 2

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This week we’re looking at thirty more idioms about birds. Click here to learn the thirty idioms we looked at last week.

  1. night owl – someone who stays up late, someone who functions better at night
  2. pecking order – the social hierarchy
  3. rare bird – an unusual person
  4. sitting duck – an easy target, someone who is vulnerable to target
  5. spring chicken – a young person
  6. swan song – a final work/performance before retirement/death
  7. to chicken out – to opt out of doing something due to being frightened
  8. to clip someone’s wings – to limit someone’s control/freedom
  9. 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
  10. to eat crow – to be humiliated, to admit defeat, to admit you are mistaken
  11. to eat like a bird – to eat very little
  12. to fly the coop – to escape
  13. to get your ducks in a row – to put your affairs in order
  14. to kill the goose that lays the golden egg – to destroy a valuable source of income
  15. to kill two birds with one stone – to accomplish two objectives at once
  16. to look like the cat that swallowed the canary – to look very pleased/satisfied with oneself
  17. to play chicken – to play a game in which the first person to withdraw from a frightening or dangerous situation loses
  18. to quit cold turkey – to abruptly and completely give something up
  19. to ruffle someone’s feathers – to annoy or upset someone
  20. to rule the roost – to be in charge
  21. to run around like a chicken with its head cut off – to run around frantically and aimlessly
  22. to spread your wings – to become independent/to pursue new interests and activities
  23. to take someone under your wing – to take someone into your protective care, to take someone under your guidance
  24. to talk turkey – to discuss something frankly
  25. to try out your wings – to independently do something that you have recently learned/received a qualification in
  26. to watch someone/something like a hawk – to watch someone/something very closely
  27. to wing it – to improvise
  28. ugly duckling – someone who is considered ugly or plain as a child but grows up to be beautiful
  29. 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
  30. wild goose chase – a hopeless search for something that is likely unattainable

If you enjoyed this post, why not check out our other articles about idioms?

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04 Mar 2018
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