Idiom
bird of ill omen
Meaning
A person who brings bad news.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“Don't be a bird of ill omen today.”
“He is a bird of ill omen who always predicts failure before we start a project.”
“The villagers avoided the traveler, fearing he was a bird of ill omen who arrived only to announce another season of hardship.”
Examples
simple
“Don't be a bird of ill omen today.”
contextual
“He is a bird of ill omen who always predicts failure before we start a project.”
complex
“The villagers avoided the traveler, fearing he was a bird of ill omen who arrived only to announce another season of hardship.”
Origin
The idiom likely descends from the practices of Ancient Roman augury, in which the flight patterns and cries of birds were interpreted as divine signs. Certain species were categorised as an unlucky presence, intended to warn the observer of an impending and significant misfortune.
Key words
Related idioms
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