This week’s theme
Words from animals

This week’s words
dog days
lionize
chicken hawk
blackbird
spread-eagle

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(CHIK-en hawk)

MEANING:

noun:
1. Any of various hawks believed to be preying on chickens.
2. A person who favors military action, yet has avoided military service.

ETYMOLOGY:

From the slang usage of the word chicken for a coward and hawk for someone who pursues an aggressive policy. Earliest documented use: 1827.

USAGE:

“I do stand for the Star-Spangled Banner. But I stay in my seat when thousands of fans stand and cheer men and women in the armed services. ... I am neither a dove nor a chicken hawk. I signed up for the Army National Guard before I graduated from high school. ... I sit simply because I think it odd that, of all the categories of Americans that we honor, we honor warriors. I’m resolved that I won’t stand until we also honor the profession that will determine whether the United States remains free -- school teachers.”
Ken Eudy; Sitting Down Could Make Kaepernick Preseason MVP; The Herald Sun (Durham, North Carolina); Sep 9, 2016.

See more usage examples of chicken hawk in Vocabulary.com’s dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: