Chicken Idioms

Before we dive in, let's consider the two sentences below.

A. My brother likes to eat chicken for lunch.

B. My brother is too chicken. He can’t sleep alone in the room. Got the difference? Great, if you did!

In case you didn't, here is an explanation. When you call somebody chicken you mean they are not brave . They feel frightened easily. My brother can't sleep alone in the room. Why? He is afraid. He fears being alone in the room.

Now, let’s dive in.

Below are different chicken idioms and their meanings. You need to learn and use them frequently.

First thing first, what is an idiom?

An idiom is a group of words or simply an expression whose meaning is totally different from the individual meanings of the words that form it. Chicken in the example B above is used as an idiom because it gives us a different meaning other than the literal meaning of a chicken as a bird.

Idiom 1: Somebody is chicken

Meaning

When you say somebody is chicken, you mean the person is not brave. The person is cowardly. She feels afraid easily.

Example,

My brother is too chicken. He can’t sleep alone in the room.

Idiom 2: Somebody counts their chicken before they are hatched

Know what hatch means? Find the meaning below.

When a chicken hatches it means the egg breaks open and baby (chick) comes out.

Back to idiom 2

Meaning

When you say that somebody counts their chicken before they are hatched, you mean that, that person starts to calculate how much gain they expect to get from a business, even when they are not sure whether or not the business will be successful.

Example,

▪ Kenny bought a phone for $50 and hopes to sell it for $70. To advise Kenny, you can tell her,

You haven’t got a buyer yet. So, don’t count your chicken before they are hatched.

Idiom 3: Chicken have come home to roost

Meaning

When you say that somebody’s chickens have home to roost, you are saying that person has done something bad in the past and that bad thing is now affecting them negatively in the present time.

Example,

Ali used to tell lies when he was a student. After school, Ali seeks a job with a company. The manager of the company was Ali’s classmate back in school. Ali had told him a terrible lie that had cost him dearly. Because of this, the manager refuses to give Ali a job.

Example in sentence

Ali was a terrible liar. I did tell him in school to stop, but he wouldn’t listen. Now his chickens have come home to roost.

Idiom 4:. A chicken and egg situation

Answer this question, which comes first? The chicken or the egg?

Confusing, right? Yeah, it’s kind of hard to figure out.

Meaning

When you have a chicken and egg situation or problem, it means it is difficult for you to tell which action causes the other.

Example

When you are talking about making money and doing business, you’ve got to decide which one causes the other to happen. Is it money that makes business possible or it’s business that brings money.