for the birds

Cultural  

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

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for the birds Idioms  

1. 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]

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Example Sentences

As for the birds, we have no advice.

From Barron's

One major factor in this decline is competition with local fisheries that catch sardines and anchovies, which are essential prey for the birds.

From Science Daily

The Conservatives said the government's housing pledges "are for the birds".

From BBC

"They formed the basis for many of these habitats, in terms of food for the birds or for smaller mammals, or even the lizards that we find up there," he added.

From BBC

She said the dominate theory behind murmurations is for the birds to avoid predators as they come to roost with "safety in numbers" by joining up in tight knit groups.

From BBC

Related Words

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