chicken hawk
- noun
- /ˈtʃɪkɪn hɔk/
- Offensive
:
[OFENSIVO] halcón que predica la guerra sin haber servido
- The senator was criticized as a chicken hawk for advocating war while never serving in the military.
Examples
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Some voters refuse to support chicken hawks who favour intervention but avoided conscription themselves.
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Don't call him a chicken hawk!
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Opponents accused the congressman of being a chicken hawk after he supported the military strike.
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Critics called the policy adviser a chicken hawk for promoting war while never serving in uniform.
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Many chicken hawks in Congress push for war without ever serving.
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Many believe that the chicken hawks in Congress are more interested in fighting than understanding the consequences of war.
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Voters are tired of chicken hawks who promote aggressive foreign policies without firsthand experience.
Synonyms
45
7.4
A person who supports using military force in other countries
3
7.7
A person who supports using a strong army and war to solve problems
1
7.4
A person who strongly supports using the military or going to war
Antonyms
How Hawkish
Surface Forms
Morphology
The political pejorative sense of 'chicken hawk' cannot be derived from the literal meanings of 'chicken' (a domesticated fowl) and 'hawk' (a bird); it depends on knowing figurative uses—'hawk' = bellicose/policy advocate and 'chicken' = coward—which B1 learners who only know the constituents' literal meanings are unlikely to infer. The compound is culturally and metaphorically specialized rather than compositionally predictable.
Etymology
The insult chicken hawk mixes the idea of a hawk, a person who wants war, with chicken, a word for someone who is too afraid to fight. It is used for people who push for military action while they avoided service, so it means 'someone who supports war but won't fight'.