A Bird in the hand…

We always have very interesting conversations in my house; usually between my oldest son and myself.  He’s very quick-witted and loves a good pun, so the conversations usually become a sort-of competition about turns of phrases, puns or twists of words.

Yesterday, our conversation started innocently enough with turkey lunch meat.  He said “Mom, don’t you find it interesting that if you call someone a chicken or a turkey, you’re insulting them?”  I thought about that and after a few moments thought of a few of my own bird sayings.  I asked him how many things he could think of that had to do with birds/fowl and were insults, sayings or adjectives…

Some of what we came up with were:

Turkey (annoying)
Chicken (fearful)

Ostrich (avoiding things)

Eagle, birdie, albatross (golf terms)

Albatross around your neck

Bird-brained

Nest Egg

Goose and the golden egg

Feathered a nest (decorating)

Happy as a lark

Naked as a jaybird

Silly goose

As the crow flies

Wise owl

Birds and the bees

Birds of a feather…

Cock and bull story

Cooked goose

Eagle eye

Eat crow

Eats like a bird

Get your ducks in a row

Night owl

Ruffle feathers

Chicken with head cut off

Hen’s teeth

Watch like a hawk

Wild goose chase

Chick (women)

Giving someone the bird (the middle finger)

For the birds

Two hours later I think we’d come up with over 75 of bird-related expressions (idioms).  We added a few more over the next 6 hours or so.  It was funny and stimulating and amazing all at the same time.  I should have written them all down, but of course, I didn’t.

Some of my friends on Facebook (of COURSE I ASKED!) came up with Dodo Bird, old bat, crazy as a loon, Phoenix, lucky duck, flew the coop.

I found it amazing that we use bird in so many of our every day expressions (chicken scratch, sing like a bird) and that we just put all that together without realizing it.

I love my son and the way his mind works!  He’s definitely NOT a bird-brain or crazy as a loon!