mother hen
An outspoken and overprotective woman or person dealing with others' affairs; especially, an assertive matriarch.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“She acts like a mother hen with her younger brothers.”
“Stop being such a mother hen; I am old enough to look after myself.”
“The director played the mother hen, fussing over every detail of the actors' lives to ensure they remained focused and safe.”
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and his mother
Serves as an intensifier for an inclusive noun or phrase such as everyone, anyone, each someone or all someones.
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be mother
To pour out tea for others.
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black over Bill's mother's
Describing rain-bearing dark clouds on the horizon.
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hen's tooth
Anything not naturally occurring.
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like mother, like daughter
A daughter takes after her mother.
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Mother Hubbard
Empty.
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mother lode
Any source of valuable or useful material.
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mother of all
Used before a plural noun to form a compound noun having the sense of: the greatest or largest of (its kind); the most epic example of (its kind).
Last updated August 10, 2026