canary seed
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of canary seed
First recorded in 1590–1600
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He went shopping for canary seed and Polly, loose in the pet shop, settled on his shoulder and said, 'Pretty boy, I love you so.'
From Time Magazine Archive
A sack of canary seed, or a rubber air cushion, or a bale of cotton, beats the Boston idea all hollow, and we will leave it to anybody that knows anything.
From Peck's Sunshine Being a Collection of Articles Written for Peck's Sun, Milwaukee, Wis. - 1882 by Peck, George W. (George Wilbur)
"Only," added Susan, "I must buy Dicky's canary seed."
From The Stokesley Secret by Yonge, Charlotte Mary
But I shall be a-practisin' my haitches, Sir," he promised me, as I went out with the canary seed which I had called to purchase—"practise 'em 'ard, I shall.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, January 29, 1919 by Various
In some parts of29 this country canary seed might be grown very easily and it would find a large sale if enough of it were produced to meet the demand which would soon grow up.
From Profitable Squab Breeding by Dare, Carl
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
