A spring chicken is a young bird with a high white to dark meat ratio, prized for its fresh, young flavor. It can also be used metaphorically to describe a person in their prime. “No spring chicken” is a self-deprecating observation of one’s unjuvenile status. Modern advances in poultry farming make the term less meaningful.
Agriculturally speaking, there really is a creature known as a spring chicken, although chefs might call it a Cornish or Poussin wild hen. Bred primarily for food, it is a very young bird with a high white to dark meat ratio. The meat is said to be much juicier and more tender than older chickens raised for the table. During the early days of poultry farming, it was impossible to raise chicks during the cold winter months, so a chicken brought to market in the spring was prized for its fresh, young flavor.
Metaphorically speaking, a spring chicken could represent a person in their prime. Such a person may be a little gullible or inexperienced at times, but often makes up in physical agility and personality for what he or she may lack in worldly experience. A young college student may be described by this term by others who envy his youthful good looks or cloudless worldview.
It’s often more common to see the negative form, “no spring chicken,” in print, because the speaker wants to emphasize his or her unjuvenile status. A character can apologize for his slow performance, citing the fact that he is no longer young. The reference is more of a self-deprecating observation than a criticism of young people. Being thought of as a spring chicken by an older person is usually not taken as a pejorative, but rather a comment on one’s youth and vitality.
Some restaurants still promote the freshness of their poultry by calling it spring chicken, although modern advances in poultry farming make that designation less meaningful. The same characteristics that made the original young bird so prized can now be duplicated year-round. Chicks can be hatched in staggered batches and housed in heated incubators, meaning a chicken under 10 months old should be ready for market any time of the year, not just the spring months.
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