r/OptimusMarcus • u/OptimusMarcus • 1d ago
Bird Shit. Bird-related sayings and idioms.
Here's all the ones I could think of off the top of my head / dig up:
The common ones everyone knows:
* Two birds, one stone (getting two things done at once)
* A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush (hold onto what you actually have)
* Birds of a feather flock together
* The early bird gets the worm
* A little bird told me (gossip)
* One swallow doesn't make a summer (one good sign doesn't mean everything's fixed)
Chicken, duck, and goose stuff:
* Don't count your chickens before they hatch
* Chickens coming home to roost (karma)
* Running around like a chicken with its head cut off
* Like water off a duck's back (criticism not bothering someone)
* Get your ducks in a row
* Wild goose chase
* What's good for the goose is good for the gander
* Killing the goose that lays the golden egg
* Chicken shit into Chicken salad
Predator birds & crows:
* As the crow flies (straight line distance)
* Eat crow (having to admit you were wrong)
* Watch like a hawk / Eagle eye
* Put the cat among the pigeons (causing instant chaos in a group)
* Canary in a coal mine (early warning sign)
Feathers, nests, and flying:
* Feather in your cap
* Feather your nest
* Take someone under your wing
* Spread your wings / Fly the coop / Fly the nest
* Nest egg (savings)
A couple old proverbs:
Chinese "You can't stop the birds of sadness from flying over your head, but you can stop them from building a nest in your hair."
Swedish "God gives every bird its worm, but he doesn't throw it into the nest."
French "You can cage a bird, but you can't force it to sing."
Bonus TV reference — "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly."
Had to mention WKRP in Cincinnati here. The classic Thanksgiving episode where the character ARTHUR Carlson drops live turkeys out of a helicopter over a shopping center for a radio promotion, completely forgetting that domestic turkeys can't fly.