chicken (redirected from chickening)

chicken feed

Fig. a small amount of anything, especially of money. (See also for chicken feed. Compare this with for peanuts.) Of course I can afford $800. That's just chicken feed. It may be chicken feed to you, but that's a month's rent to me.

See also: feed

chicken out (of something)

Inf. to manage to get out of something, usually because of fear or cowardice. Come on! Don't chicken out now! Freddy chickened out of the plan at the last minute.

See also: out

chicken out on someone

Inf. to decide not to do something for or with someone. Come on, don't chicken out on me now! Ken chickened out on us and won't be going with us.

See also: out

chicken-hearted

cowardly. Yes, I'm a chicken-hearted softie. I never try anything too risky.

chickens come home to roost

Prov. You have to face the consequences of your mistakes or bad deeds. Jill: Emily found out that I said she was incompetent, and now she won't recommend me for that job. Jane: The chickens have come home to roost, I see.

See also: come, home, roost

count one's chickens before they hatch

Fig. to plan how to utilize good results of something before those results have occurred. (The same as Don't count your chickens before they are hatched.) You may be disappointed if you count your chickens before they hatch.

See also: before, count, hatch

for chicken feed and for peanuts

Fig. for nearly nothing; for very little money. (Also used without for.) Bob doesn't get paid much. He works for chicken feed. You can buy an old car for chicken feed. I won't do that kind of work for peanuts!

See also: feed

go to bed with the chickens

Fig. to go to bed at sundown-at the same time that chickens go to sleep. They say that farmers go to bed with the chickens. We always go to bed with the chickens and get up early too.

See also: bed

If it ain't chickens, it's feathers.

Rur. There are always problems.; That is life. Now that I'm finally done with school, I've got to worry about getting a job. If it ain't chickens, it's feathers. He's got plenty of money now, but he's in such bad health he can't enjoy it. If it ain't chickens, it's feathers.

See also: feather, if

no spring chicken

Fig. a person well past youth; an old person. That actress is no spring chicken, but she does a pretty good job of playing a twenty-year-old girl. Jane: How old do you think Robert is? Jill: Well, he's certainly no spring chicken.

See also: spring

run around like a chicken with its head cut off and run (around) in circles

Fig. to run around frantically and aimlessly; to be in a state of chaos. (Alludes to a chicken that continues to run around aimlessly after its head has been chopped off.) I spent all afternoon running around like a chicken with its head cut off. If you run around in circles, you'll never get anything done.

See also: and, around, circle, cut, head, like, run

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a chicken and egg situation

a situation in which it is impossible to say which of two things existed first and which caused the other It's a chicken and egg situation - I don't know whether I was bad at the sciences because I wasn't interested in them or not interested in them and therefore not good at them.

See also: and, egg, situation

be no spring chicken  (humorous)

to not be young any more He must be ten years older than Grace, and she's no spring chicken.

See come to mind

See also: spring

chicken feed

a very small amount of money, especially money that is paid for doing a job He pays his labourers chicken feed.

See also: feed

chicken-hearted  (American)

not brave These chicken-hearted bosses always seem to give in at the first sign of a strike.

chickens come home to roost

if you say that chickens are coming home to roost, you mean that bad or silly things done in the past are beginning to cause problems There was too much greed in the past, and now the chickens are coming home to roost with crime and corruption soaring.

See Don't count chickens

See also: come, home, roost

Don't count your chickens (before they're hatched).

something that you say in order to warn someone to wait until a good thing they are expecting has really happened before they make any plans about it You might be able to get a loan from the bank, but don't count your chickens.

See also: count

like a headless chicken  (British) also like a chicken with its head cut off (American)

if you do something like a headless chicken, you do it very quickly and without thinking carefully about what you are doing (usually in continuous tenses) I've got so much work to do - I've been running around like a headless chicken all week. He was racing around like a chicken with its head cut off trying to do the work of two people.

See also: like