chicken

a chicken-and-egg problem an unresolved question as to which of two things caused the other.

☞ This expression comes from the traditional riddle: 'which came first, the chicken or the egg?'

chickens come home to roost your past mistakes or wrongdoings will eventually be the cause of present troubles.

☞ This phrase comes from the proverb curses, like chickens, come home to roost.

1997Arundhati RoyThe God of Small Things He knew, had known, that one day History's twisted chickens would come home to roost.

chicken feed a paltry sum of money. informal

count your chickens: seecount.

no (spring) chicken not a young person. euphemistic

2005Molly HartRoad to Ruination She must've been in at least her mid-forties, she was no spring chicken, but she looked good for her age.

running (or rushing) about like a headless chicken acting in a panic-stricken manner and not thinking clearly about what should be done.

☞ A decapitated chicken may continue to flap about for a few moments before finally expiring.