spring chicken
Americannoun
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a young chicken, especially a broiler or fryer.
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Slang. a young person.
I don't know his age, but he's no spring chicken.
noun
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Also called: springer. a young chicken, tender for cooking, esp one from two to ten months old
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informal she is no longer young
Etymology
Origin of spring chicken
An Americanism dating back to 1835–45
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.
It is worth noting that Trọng himself is no spring chicken, at 79 years old.
From Slate • Sep. 11, 2023
Yet Ertz is a spring chicken compared with Megan Rapinoe who, at 38, is the oldest woman on the U.S. roster and one of 10 players older than 30.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 11, 2023
Especially if Trump, at 76 no spring chicken himself, is in the race.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 27, 2023
Its name doesn't just indicate its seasonality; like a spring chicken, spring onions are literally young onions, plucked earlier, which means that they aren't so bitter and, well, onion-y tasting.
From Salon • Feb. 28, 2022
“What did you think I was, a spring chicken? Haw, haw—that’s a good one, eh, Sister?”
From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
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.
