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Synonyms

for the birds

Cultural  

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

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]

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.

The drovers would forage along the way, picking berries, acorns and gleaning corn for the birds to eat.

From BBC • Dec. 24, 2025

As for the birds, we have no advice.

From Barron's • Nov. 25, 2025

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 • Nov. 17, 2025

There’s still beauty and interest in the garden with dried stalks and seed pods providing food for the birds and other animals.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 8, 2024

It was easy for the birds to avoid the arrows.

From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith

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.