ENGLISH
REFERENCE

the old woman is plucking her goose

idiom
Meaning

It is snowing.


Origin

disputed origin

Metaphoric, likening the snowflakes to white feathers.

Examples
SIMPLE

Look outside, the old woman is plucking her goose.

CONTEXTUAL

The children cheered when they saw the first flakes, saying the old woman is plucking her goose.

COMPLEX

As the sky turned a heavy grey and the first soft flakes descended, the villagers remarked that the old woman is plucking her goose.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    a wild goose never laid a tame egg

    Most things are inherited and predetermined.

  2. 02

    any old nook or cranny

    Alternative form of any nook or cranny.

  3. 03

    bad old days

    The past, seen as a time when things were worse.

  4. 04

    big old

    Emphatically or impressively big; really big.

  5. 05

    chip off the old block

    Someone who takes after one of their parents; (generally) a person similar to another.

  6. 06

    come the old soldier

    Often followed by with: to deceive, impose upon, or take advantage of someone, as if exploiting one's superior age or experience.

  7. 07

    comfort woman

    A woman forced, or supposedly recruited, into brothels by the Japanese occupation forces before or during World War II.

  8. 08

    cook someone's goose

    To spoil one's plans or hope of success.

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