for the birds

1. Worthless: “The last scheme you came up with was really for the birds.”

Idioms and Phrases

Worthless, not to be taken seriously, no good. For example, This conference is for the birds—let's leave now . This term has been said to allude to horse droppings from which birds would extract seeds. This seemingly fanciful theory is borne out by a more vulgar version of this idiom, shit for the birds . [ Slang ; first half of 1900s]

Example Sentences

"Human imprinting is necessary for feeding and handling the birds but it also makes them lose their natural instincts. It will be extremely challenging to re-wild them, especially if there's no habitat left for the birds to be released into," he adds.

From BBC

Likewise, there is a marvelous sequence where you talk about shooting in real time, for “The Birds” and “Rope” or the killings in “Blackmail” and “Torn Curtain.”

From Salon

There’s still beauty and interest in the garden with dried stalks and seed pods providing food for the birds and other animals.

From Los Angeles Times

"The idea that he’s going to turn it into anything other than the journalistic enterprise which it is is just for the birds."

From BBC

They were first recorded in the port of Mombasa in 1947 and since then, their numbers have exploded, thanks to the growing human population and the accompanying mounds of rubbish, which provide an ideal environment for the birds to feed and breed.

From BBC

Related Words

• astonishing
• implausible
• impossible
• improbable
• inconceivable
• incredible
• outlandish
• preposterous
• too much
• unimaginable
• unthinkable