chicken-livered
[chik-uh n-liv-erd]
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adjective Informal.
timid; fearful; cowardly.
Origin of chicken-livered
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for chicken-livered
Historical Examples of chicken-livered
A weak-kneed, chicken-livered, white-bellied old bullfrog that squeaks and jumps, plunk!
The Maid-At-ArmsRobert W. Chambers
He thinks me a chicken-livered old coward and I know much more about him than I knew before; and we are at peace.
The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume IIBurton J. Hendrick
Come back here, you couple of chicken-livered cowards, and I'll thrash the two of ye!
I went, and this is what he says: 'The fool that defended me is a chicken-livered son of a—and all the rest of it,' he says.
SummerEdith Wharton