fowl

Related to fowl: fowl cholera

be neither fish nor fowl

To be difficult to describe or definitively categorize. What genre of music is this? It's neither fish nor fowl to me.
See also: fish, fowl, neither, nor

neither fish nor fowl

Neither one thing nor another; not belonging to any suitable class or description; not recognizable or characteristic of any one particular thing. We require a solution that directly deals with the issue at hand, but the proposal that has been put forward is, to my mind, neither fish nor fowl.
See also: fish, fowl, neither, nor

neither fish, flesh, nor fowl

Neither one thing nor another; not belonging to any suitable class or description; not recognizable or characteristic of any one particular thing. We require a solution that directly deals with the issue at hand, but what the chancellor has put forward is, to my mind, neither fish, flesh nor fowl.
See also: fowl, neither, nor

run foul of (someone or something)

1. In sailing, to collide or become entangled with something. The schooner lost control and ran foul of the lead boat. The small power boat ran foul of the seaweed and was completely immobilized.
2. To be in severe disagreement, trouble, or difficulty with someone or something; to be at odds with someone or something, especially due to disobeying rules or laws. Always look into the laws of any place you visit, or you may end up unwittingly running foul of the local police. Ms. Banks has run foul of this university for the last time. She is no longer welcome here!
See also: foul, of, run
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

neither fish nor fowl

Cliché not any recognizable thing. The car that they drove up in was neither fish nor fowl. It must have been made out of spare parts. This proposal is neither fish nor fowl. I can't tell what you're proposing.
See also: fish, fowl, neither, nor
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

neither fish nor fowl

Also, neither fish nor flesh; neither fish, flesh, nor fowl. Not one or the other, not something fitting any category under discussion. For example, They felt he was neither fish nor fowl-not qualified to lead the department, yet not appropriate to work as a staff member either . This expression appeared in slightly different form in John Heywood's 1546 proverb collection ("Neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring") and is thought to allude to food for monks ( fish, because they abstained from meat), for the people ( flesh, or meat), and for the poor ( red herring, a very cheap fish).
See also: fish, fowl, neither, nor
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

neither fish nor fowl

If something or someone is neither fish nor fowl, they are difficult to identify or understand, because they seem partly like one thing and partly like another. Brunel's vessel was neither fish nor fowl: a passenger liner too ugly and dirty to offer much beyond novelty value. In the American sports press, this athlete is neither fish nor fowl, neither American nor entirely foreign. Note: People occasionally replace fish with flesh. She didn't look one of anything to Oatsie, neither flesh nor fowl, neither idiot nor intellectual. Note: `Fowl' is an old-fashioned word for a hen or other bird.
See also: fish, fowl, neither, nor
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

neither fish nor fowl (nor good red herring)

of indefinite character and difficult to identify or classify.
This expression arose with reference to dietary laws formerly laid down by the Church during periods of fasting or abstinence.
See also: fish, fowl, neither, nor
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

neither ˌfish nor ˈfowl

neither one thing nor another: Graduate teaching assistants are neither fish nor fowl, neither completely students nor teachers.
See also: fish, fowl, neither, nor
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

neither fish nor fowl

Having no specific characteristics; indefinite.
See also: fish, fowl, neither, nor
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.

neither fish, flesh, nor fowl

Not one or the other; not fitting any category. This term dates from the sixteenth century and appeared in John Heywood’s 1546 Proverbs as “She is nother fyshe, nor fleshe, nor good red hearyng [herring].” The analogy refers to food for monks (fish), for the people (meat), and for the poor (red herring). Shakespeare also used the term; when Falstaff insults Mistress Quickly, he says she’s an otter because “She’s neither fish nor flesh; a man knows not where to have her” (Henry IV, Part 1, 3.3).
See also: fowl, neither, nor
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer

neither fish nor fowl

Having no specific characteristics or category, not easily characterized. The phrase, which was originally “neither fish nor flesh nor fowl,” appeared in slightly different form in a 16th-century collection of proverbs as “neither fish, nor flesh, nor good red herring”: fish for monks who ate no meat, flesh for people who could afford meat, and cheap herring for the poor. The phrase is reminiscent of the old riddle: What is neither fish nor flesh, feathers nor bone/but still has fingers and thumbs of its own? Answer: a glove.
See also: fish, fowl, neither, nor
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • be neither fish nor fowl
  • nor
  • nipped
  • drink like a fish
  • drink like a fish, to
  • fish up
  • fish up out of
  • fish up out of (something)
  • fish to fry
  • (as) crooked as a fish hook
References in classic literature
"A piece of dry bread, since the fowls are beyond all price in this accursed place."
Count of Monte Cristo
So, the gridiron was put in requisition, and the good-tempered cherub, who was often as un-cherubically employed in his own family as if he had been in the employment of some of the Old Masters, undertook to grill the fowls. Indeed, except in respect of staring about him (a branch of the public service to which the pictorial cherub is much addicted), this domestic cherub discharged as many odd functions as his prototype; with the difference, say, that he performed with a blacking-brush on the family's boots, instead of performing on enormous wind instruments and double-basses, and that he conducted himself with cheerful alacrity to much useful purpose, instead of foreshortening himself in the air with the vaguest intentions.
Bella helped him with his supplemental cookery, and made him very happy, but put him in mortal terror too by asking him when they sat down at table again, how he supposed they cooked fowls at the Greenwich dinners, and whether he believed they really were such pleasant dinners as people said?
Our Mutual Friend
The relative described Fowl as a man "who did good for people" and criticised media reports that the businessman's wealth had its foundations in the illicit drug trade.
Fowl was warned of threat
Heady, challenging, and thought-provoking, the essays in This Fish Is Fowl traverse international and cultural boundaries.
This Fish Is Fowl; Essays of Being
We have cattle, goats, pigs, chickens, and guinea fowl on our farm.
SILVOPASTURE EXPLAINED
The event also involves a keynote speech on the topic of 'The history and social contribution of bird carving' delivered by Japanese artists and a fowl specimen making workshop held by the Endemic Species Research Institute.
Bird carving exhibition in Taipei features artworks from Taiwan, Japan
'The interstate movement of game fowl poses a risk to the spread or breakout of diseases,' Pinol said in the order dated October 10, but a copy of which was provided to reporters on Wednesday.
PHL bans birds, game fowl from California
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has temporarily banned the importation of domestic and wild birds including game fowls from California in the United States following incidences of virulent newcastle disease (VND).
DA temporarily bans PH importation of birds from California
He said the other issue was that it was expensive to maintain a guinea fowl, hence it was advisable to sell them from P150 upwards, which he attributed to the fact unlike chickens, which could be free range, guinea fowls were confined and could not go out to look for food.
Guinea fowls problematic for beneficiaries
In spite of this belief though, literature shows that local chickens are susceptible to some of the common poultry diseases such as Newcastle, Gumboro, Coccidiosis, fowl pox, infectious coryza, chronic respiratory diseases, and internal and external parasites which account for high percentage of poultry losses annually, as high as 50-70% [4, 7, 9, 14] (Melewas, 1989; Yongolo, 1996; FASDEP, 2002, FAOSTAT, 2005).
Serological and Molecular Surveillance of Infectious Bronchitis Virus Infection in Free-Range Chickens and Guinea Fowls in the Ga-East District of Ghana
Very few exclusive studies on the interstitial tissue have been done on the avian species (Rothwell & Tingari, 1973; Rothwell, 1975; Aire, 1997) but detailed morphology of the interstitial tissue of the guinea fowl during active and resting phases of the reproductive cycle is still lacking.
Morphology of the Interstitial Tissue of Active and Resting Testis of the Guinea Fowl/ Morfologia del Tejido Intersticial del Testiculo Activo y en Reposo de la Gallina de Guinea
The households that had at least 10 chickens and/or guinea fowl (n = 77) were selected for the present study.
Phenotypic diversity, major genes and production potential of local chickens and guinea fowl in Tamale, northern Ghana
It is believed the men failed to communicate effectively about who would provide day-to-day care for the fowl, which led to "shocking levels" of neglect.
Men jailed after ducks left in filthy conditions
This may be another probable reason for low egg number in West Azerbaijan's native fowl. Finally, genetic correlation between MEW and ASMwas estimated negative.
GENETIC EVALUATION OF LAYING TRAITS IN IRANIAN INDIGENOUS HENS USING UNIVARIATE AND BIVARIATE ANIMAL MODELS