crow

Speaking with a very raspy voice; very hoarse. Since I'm hoarse as a crow today, I'm not going to speak for much longer. I woke up hoarse as a crow after belting out my favorite songs all night long at the concert.

An issue to discuss—typically one that is a source of annoyance for the speaker. Hey, I have a crow to pluck with you! Why didn't you put gas in my car after you borrowed it?

proverb It is not proper for a woman to engage in overtly masculine behavior. My grandmother is legitimately worried because I asked a boy to the dance, instead of him asking me. She says that a whistling woman and a crowing hen are neither fit for God nor men—whatever that means.

The measurement of distance in a straight line. (From the notion that crows always fly in a straight line.) From here to the office, it's about 20 miles as the crow flies, but it's more like 30 miles by car since you have to wind around the mountain.

To be awake, out of bed, and active at a particularly early hour of the morning. Primarily heard in Australia. I don't know how he does it, but my husband is up with the crows every single morning. I won't have another pint, thanks. I have to be up with the crows tomorrow, so I'd better head home soon.

Someone or something that is near death, often an animal. That old horse can barely walk around the farm these days—he's just crow bait now.

To brag or boast about something, likened to the squawking of a rooster. You know, no one likes it when you go around crowing over your successes in business.

Wrinkles at the corner of the eyes, likened to the long forked toes on a crow's foot. Some people dread getting wrinkles, but I rather like my crow's feet—I think they give me a wise appearance.

To admit that one is wrong, usually when doing so triggers great embarrassment or shame. Ugh, now that my idea has failed, I'll have to eat crow in the board meeting tomorrow. I think Ellen is a perfectionist because the thought of having to eat crow terrifies her.

The systemic discrimination against African Americans that occurred in the southern United States from the end of the American Civil War until the 1960s, in which black people were treated as a lower class of citizens than white people. Back during Jim Crow, a black person couldn't even use the same drinking fountain as a white person! Many are calling this systemic racism the "new Jim Crow."

To cause or force one to admit that one was wrong, especially regarding something about which one was overconfident or too self-assured. They laughed at the thought of our team every winning the championships, but we'll make them eat crow when we beat them for the title tomorrow! They made me eat crow when they showed me the sales numbers for the latest product.

An exclamation of surprise. Well, stone the crows! I never thought I'd see him walk through those doors again.

An expression of shock or surprise at or about something. Primarily heard in UK. Well, stone the crows! I never thought I'd see you around these parts again! Stone the crows, the kids are actually playing together quietly for once!

The measurement of distance between two points in a straight line. (From the notion that a crow is able fly in a straight line, in contrast to the circuitous roads and paths we must usually traverse on the ground.) From here to the office, it's about 20 miles the way the crow flies, but it's more like 30 miles by car since you have to wind around these mountain roads.

Awake, out of bed, and active at a particularly early hour of the morning. Primarily heard in Australia. I don't know how he does it, but my husband has gotten up with the crows every morning of his life. I won't have another pint, thanks. I have to be up with the crows tomorrow, so I'd better head home soon.

proverb It is not proper for a woman to engage in overtly masculine behavior. My grandmother is legitimately worried because I asked a boy to the dance, instead of him asking me. She says that whistling girls and crowing hens soon come to some bad end—whatever that means.

Rur. someone or an animal that is likely to die; a useless animal or person. That old dog used to hunt good, but now he's just crow bait.

very hoarse. (*Also: as ~.) After shouting at the team all afternoon, the coach was as hoarse as a crow. Jill: Has Bob got a cold? Jane: No, he's always hoarse as a crow.

Fig. to cause someone to retract a statement or admit an error. Because Mary was completely wrong, we made her eat crow. They won't make me eat crow. They can't prove I was wrong.

In a straight line, by the shortest route, as in It's only a mile as the crow flies, but about three miles by this mountain road. This idiom is based on the fact that crows, very intelligent birds, fly straight to the nearest food supply. [Late 1700s]

Exult loudly about, especially over someone's defeat. For example, In most sports it's considered bad manners to crow over your opponent. This term alludes to the cock's loud crow. [Late 1500s]

Also, eat dirt or humble pie . Be forced to admit a humiliating mistake, as in When the reporter got the facts all wrong, his editor made him eat crow. The first term's origin has been lost, although a story relates that it involved a War of 1812 encounter in which a British officer made an American soldier eat part of a crow he had shot in British territory. Whether or not it is true, the fact remains that crow meat tastes terrible. The two variants originated in Britain. Dirt obviously tastes bad. And humble pie alludes to a pie made from umbles, a deer's undesirable innards (heart, liver, entrails). [Early 1800s] Also see eat one's words.

If one place is a particular distance from another as the crow flies, the two places are that distance apart if you measure them in a straight line. I live at Mesa, Washington, about 10 miles as the crow flies from Hanford. This mountainous area has always been remote, although it is not far from Tehran as the crow flies. Note: People used to think that crows always travelled to their destination by the most direct route possible. `Make a beeline' is based on a similar idea.

If someone eats crow, they admit that they have been wrong and apologize. He wanted to make his critics eat crow. I didn't want to eat crow the rest of my life if my theories were wrong. Note: The usual British expression is eat humble pie.

In a straight line.

To be forced to accept a humiliating defeat.

By the most direct or shortest route. Since crows normally fly straight to their food supply, this simile came into use as the shortest distance between two points. It originated in the late eighteenth century or even earlier.

To acknowledge an embarrassing error and humiliatingly abase oneself. All these expressions date from the early nineteenth century, eating crow from America and eating humble pie and dirt from Britain. The origin of the first is not known, although it is generally acknowledged that the meat of a crow tastes terrible. A story cited by Charles Funk and published in the Atlanta Constitution in 1888 claims that toward the end of the War of 1812, during a temporary truce, an American went hunting and by accident crossed behind the British lines, where he shot a crow. He was caught by an unarmed British officer who, by complimenting him on his fine shooting, persuaded him to hand over his gun. The officer then pointed the gun and said that as punishment for trespassing the American must take a bite out of the crow. The American obeyed, but when the officer returned his gun, he took his revenge and made the Briton eat the rest of the bird. The source of humble pie is less far-fetched; it is a corruption of (or pun on) umble-pie, “umbles” being dialect for the heart, liver, and entrails of the deer, which were fed to the hunt’s beaters and other servants while the lord and his guests ate the choice venison. This explanation appeared in 1830 in Vocabulary of East Anglia by Robert Forby. The analogy to eating dirt is self-evident. It appeared in Frederick W. Farrar’s Julian Home (1859): “He made up for the dirt they had been eating by the splendour of his entertainment.”