Dictionary

spring chicken en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

From spring + chicken. First appears c. 1765 in The Public Advertiser.

Meanings

1. A chicken for eating while it is still young.
2. (in negative constructions, informal) A person who is still young.
   • You know the world. You are no spring chicken. 1908, Upton Sinclair, chapter 5, in The Money Changers:
   • A real candidate arose to challenge dapper Robert Rice ("Buncombe Bob") Reynolds, aging coxcomb of the Senate. The candidate, no spring chicken himself: tall, lean Clyde Roark Hoey (pronounced Hooey), 65, one of the most popular Governors the state ever had. 1943 May 10, “The Pot Boils”, in Time:
   • It is a special day for you indeed, for both of us, bodies incorporeal, receptive always to life's joys appreciative in any way I can, you like to remind me were both getting old; I'd remind you that, at fifty-five, you're still a spring chicken. 2014, William Friedman, Hearts and Minds, page 64:
   • He doubtless hoped for a sympathetic ruling from President Reagan, at 70 no spring chicken himself. 1981 November 23, “Newest Sub, Oldest Sailor”, in Time:

Forms

Relateds

spring onion

wikipedia: The Public Advertiser