(as) sick as a parrot

Thoroughly displeased, disappointed, or dejected (about something). Primarily heard in UK. Tim was as sick as a parrot when he learned that he had been passed over for the promotion. I'm delighted that my children have such wonderful opportunities abroad, but I must say I feel sick as a parrot at the thought of being separated from them for so long.

If you are as sick as a parrot, you are very annoyed or disappointed about something. Sportsnight presenter Des Lynam will be as sick as a parrot if his new TV show fails to score with viewers. Note: The origin of this expression is uncertain. References to people being `as melancholy as a sick parrot' have been found as early as the 17th century. In the 1970s in West Africa, there was an outbreak of the disease of psittacosis or parrot fever, which humans can catch from birds. At about this time, footballers and football managers started using this expression to say how they felt when they had lost a match.