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prairie chicken

noun
  1. either of two North American gallinaceous birds of western prairies, Tympanuchus cupido (greater prairie chicken), or T. pallidicinctus (lesser prairie chicken), having rufous, brown, black, and white plumage.
  2. sharp-tailed grouse.
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Origin of prairie chicken

An Americanism dating back to 1685–95
Also called prairie fowl, prairie grouse.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for prairie chicken

Historical Examples

  • "The—the prairie-chicken," said Nancy, to make him feel that he was quite forgiven.

    The Devourers

    Annie Vivanti Chartres

  • Wild turkeys and prairie-chicken tasted much better than bacon, Polly said, and she learned to cook them herself.

    Stories of California

    Ella M. Sexton

  • Roasted duck and prairie-chicken; stewed rabbit and broiled fish fresh out of the lake!

    The Huntress

    Hulbert Footner

  • They were famous hunters, and could shoot a deer upon the run, or bring down a prairie-chicken upon the wing.

    Winning His Way

    Charles Carleton Coffin

  • The flying turkey will not shrink, as the prairie-chicken does, when receiving and carrying off lead.

    Buffalo Land

    W. E. Webb

British Dictionary definitions for prairie chicken

prairie chicken

prairie fowl, prairie grouse or prairie hen

noun
  1. either of two mottled brown-and-white grouse, Tympanuchus cupido or T. pallidicinctus, of North America
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012