A little bird told me you got the job.
a little bird told me
idiomI received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose.
Origin
first recorded 16th c.The etymology is unknown; in English sources, references to birds passing along information to people date back to at least the 16th century (see the 1546 quotation), and in other languages even earlier. For example, Ecclesiastes 10:20 in the Bible, the original Hebrew version of which is dated to 450–180 B.C.E., states according to the King James Version (spelling modernized): “Curse not the king, no not in thy thought, and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.”
When she asked how I knew about the surprise party, I just said a little bird told me.
A little bird told me that the merger was imminent, though I could not reveal my source within the company.
- 01
a little bit of bread and no cheese
Used to represent the song of the yellowhammer (Emberiza citrinella).
- 02
a little from column A, a little from column B
A combination of two factors or reasons.
- 03
a little of something goes a long way
Only a small amount of something is usually required to produce a great effect.
- 04
all told
With everything included, counted, or summed; in total.
- 05
bird in the bosom
A secret pledge that one makes for another.
- 06
bird of ill omen
A person who brings bad news.
- 07
bird of one's own brain
One's own idea or conception.
- 08
early bird
A person who wakes early or arrives early, typically before most others.