ENGLISH
REFERENCE

chicken scratch

idiom
Meaning

Cramped or illegible handwriting.


Examples
SIMPLE

I cannot read his chicken scratch.

CONTEXTUAL

The doctor wrote the prescription in such messy chicken scratch that the pharmacist could not read it.

COMPLEX

After years of typing, his handwriting had deteriorated into mere chicken scratch, making his personal journals nearly impossible for anyone else to decipher.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    chicken feed

    A very small or insignificant quantity, especially of money.

  2. 02

    chicken out

    To shy away from a daring task; to decline, refuse, or avoid something due to fear or uncertainty.

  3. 03

    choke the chicken

    To masturbate by stimulating one's penis.

  4. 04

    play chicken

    As a risky test of courage, to drive two vehicles directly toward one another in order to see which driver will swerve away first.

  5. 05

    run around like a chicken with its head cut off

    To act in a haphazard or aimless way; to act frantically or without control.

  6. 06

    scratch an itch

    To satisfy a need or desire.

  7. 07

    scratch beneath the surface

    To look or see beyond what is obvious.

  8. 08

    scratch by

    To get by; to make ends meet.

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