The “for the birds” idiom is a condensed story that conveys an idea or object is useless. The image conjured is of something thrown out like rubbish, only interesting to birds. Historically, it was military slang for anything worthless. It is popular among American seniors and young people.
Most idioms contain at least elements of image and metaphor. Many are also very condensed stories. The “for the birds” idiom, used in casual conversation to indicate that an idea or object is completely useless, contains all three.
When something is labeled as being for birds, the speaker generally speaks with disgust. Idiom is a way of dismissing someone else’s idea or something more tangible, such as a project or plan, as worth little or nothing. The image these three words conjure is of something that has been thrown out the window like rubbish, something only birds would be interested in.
That image contains subtle subtext. Birds have long been viewed as simple creatures lacking any kind of intelligence. This is seen in another idiom, “birdbrains”. The implied message is that something that is interesting to bird-brained individuals lacks the substance or importance necessary to be useful to anyone with intelligence.
Something that is for birds can be dismissed out of hand and no one is likely to object. To protest such a strongly worded dismissal might suggest that the protester is also a type of brainiac. Rather than be blamed, most participants in such a conversation will step aside and allow the seemingly worthless notion or activity to be ignored, abandoned, and ultimately destroyed.
Historically, the phrase “for the birds” first became popular during World War II. It was based on a cruder expression that evoked the image of birds feasting on cow or horse manure, hunting for seeds or undigested grasses. The expression became military slang for anything that was useless, ridiculous, or just plain worthless to all but the most pathetic or least capable. To be incorporated into everyday conversation as an expression, however, it had to be cleaned up. The direct reference to manure has been neatly eliminated and the phrase has been shortened to the same three words that are used today.
While many English idioms have jumped the puddle and are widely used in England and other English-speaking countries, this is not one of them. Interestingly, the phrase enjoys its greatest popularity among American seniors and the very young. Perhaps because older people have used the expression since their youth when it became popular and, as all new idioms do, it seemed loaded with meaning and fun. Young people simply like him for the image he creates; they are equally fond of other idioms that contain animal life, such as “a fish out of water” or “a memory like an elephant”.
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