the bird has flown
the bird has flown
Someone or something has left, fled, escaped, etc.; someone or something is no longer here. I'm afraid you're not going to find him here. The bird has flown.
See also: bird, flown
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
bird has flown, the
The individual sought has gone away, as in Jean hoped to meet her editor at long last, but when she arrived the bird had flown. This idiom has been used for an escaped prisoner, and more generally, as in 1655 by William Gurnall ( The Christian in Complete Armour): "Man ... knows not his time ... he comes when the bird is flown." [Mid-1600s]
See also: bird
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
the bird has flown
If you say the bird has flown, you mean that the person you are looking for has escaped or disappeared. He'd been told to follow the woman to work and wait till she came out again. Instead he'd wandered off, come back at her normal leaving time and found the bird had flown.
See also: bird, flown
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
the bird has flown
the person you are looking for has escaped or gone away.See also: bird, flown
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
the bird has ˈflown
the person who was being chased or looked for has escaped or gone away: The police raided the house at dawn, but the bird had flown.See also: bird, flown
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
- bird has flown, the
- be/have done with somebody/something
- be in line with (someone or something)
- better of
- (someone or something) promises well
- begin with
- begin with (someone or something)
- beware of
- beware of (someone or something)
- be rough on (someone or something)