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

See Examples For:

for the birds

"So this is like the caviar of the seed for the birds."

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

Hemsley warned it was not uncommon for the birds not to breed again after losing their nests.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026

He took a boat and 87 steep steps to reach a puffin colony on Skomer Island off the west coast of Wales, where he had to wait for two hours for the birds to arrive.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

Shortly after, a pair of eagles nested on the north side, bolstering Big Bear Valley’s role as vital habitat for the birds of prey.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026

“Do I pay half-fare for the birds, or do they go free?” asked Mr. Popper.

From "Mr. Popper's Penguins" by Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater

Related Words

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