Idiom – Chicken

• Idiom – Chicken
• Meaning – A coward. A chicken is used to refer to a person who is nervous, timid or afraid. If you call someone a chicken you are mocking them for being afraid, or trying to provoke them into being brave.
• To chicken out of something is to find a way to avoid doing something because you are afraid. In this situation we could also say that someone has cold feet.
• Another expression for a coward or timid person is a scaredy-cat.

Chickens in the English language:

• There are lots of popular expressions that feature chickens. Here are some common ones:
  • A chicken and egg situation (idiom) – From the question Which came first, the chicken or the egg? A situation in which it is impossible to know which of two things existed or happened first.
  • Chickens come home to roost (idiom) – You must face the consequences of your past mistakes or bad deeds.
  • Don’t count your chickens before they are hatched (proverb) – Don’t rely on something happening until it has actually happened.
  • For chicken feed (idiom) – For very little money. If you work for chicken feed you work for almost nothing.
  • Like a headless chicken (idiom) – To act frantically or without control.
  • No spring chicken (idiom) – An old person. This idiom is used to refer to a person who no longer young.

Usage:

When could you use this idiom?

• If a person is too scared to visit the dentist or doctor.
• When you think a person is afraid of doing something fairly harmless.
• You are trying to encourage a frightened friend to take part in some activity.
• If somebody is not brave enough to do something new and exciting.

Example:

• “We’ve come all this way to do a bungee jump. Stop being such a chicken and get ready to jump!”

In The News:

Chicken Theresa May ducks out of Woman’s Hour interview…

Discuss: