Birds Idioms

(English Idioms & Sayings) Birds Idioms

an albatross (around someone's neck)

- a problem that prevents someone from succeeding
The man's lack of a university degree was an albatross around his neck and prevented him from being promoted.

as a duck takes to water

- easily and naturally
The little boy started to swim just as a duck takes to water.

as bald as a coot

- completely bald
The man in the gas station was as bald as a coot.

as crazy as a loon

- crazy
Our neighbor is as crazy as a loon.

as dead as a dodo

- dead, no longer in existence
The dog was as dead as a dodo after the accident.

as easy as duck soup

- very easy, requiring no effort
Convincing the man to buy the car was as easy as duck soup.

as free as a bird

- carefree, completely free
I was as free as a bird after I finished my last school exam.

as graceful as a swan

- very graceful
The figure skater was as graceful as a swan.

as happy as a lark

- very happy and cheerful
The boy was as happy as a lark when he received his birthday present.

as hoarse as a crow

- very hoarse
The professor was as hoarse as a crow when he finished the lecture.

as mad as a wet hen

- angry
The nurse was as mad as a wet hen when the patient tried to bite her.

as naked as a jaybird

- naked
The little boy was as naked as a jaybird when he finished his bath.

as proud as a peacock

- very proud, haughty
The father was as proud as a peacock of his young son.

as scarce as hen's teeth/scarcer than hen's teeth

- very scarce or nonexistent
Cheap hotels in this city are as scarce as hen's teeth.

as silly as a goose

- very foolish, very silly
My aunt acted as silly as a goose last evening.

as soft as down

- very soft to the touch (down is the soft/fine feathers from a goose or duck)
The fur on the little dog was as soft as down.

as the crow flies

- by the most direct way, along a straight line between two places
As the crow flies it is about six kilometers between my house and downtown.

as wise as an owl

- very wise
My grandfather is as wise as an owl and he seems to know everything.

a bat out of hell

- very fast (bats are not birds but are mammals that can fly)
The man left here like a bat out of hell. I do not know why he was in such a hurry.

bats in the belfry

- crazy, eccentric (bats are not birds but are mammals that can fly)
I think that my boss has bats in the belfry. His ideas are absolutely crazy.

bird brain

- someone who you think is stupid
The man is a bird brain and he is always making mistakes at work.

a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush

- something that is certain is better than something that is not certain
"You should keep the prize money and not try to win more. Remember that a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."

birds and the bees

- the facts about sex and birth and life
The boy learned about the birds and the bees in his health education class at school.

birds-eye view

- a general view from above
"Let`s go up to the roof and get a birds-eye view of the surrounding area."

birds of a feather flock together

- people who are similar become friends or join together
"Do not complain about your friends. Remember that birds of a feather flock together. They are just like you."

chicken and egg situation

- two things happen together and it is difficult to see which one of them caused the other
It was a chicken and egg situation and it was difficult to know who caused the problems with the computer.

chicken feed

- a small sum of money
The money that I spent last night was chicken feed and I am not worried about it at all.

chicken-livered

- cowardly, easily scared
The boy called his friend chicken-livered which made him very angry.

chicken out of (doing something)


Posted by Learning English through Idioms and Sayings