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Glite Dictionary
to get up with the chickens

to get up with the chickens

7.9
Wake very early in the morning, often before dawn
  • idiom
translation icon : levantarse al amanecer
  • Farmers often get up with the chickens to start their day before sunrise.

Examples

  • We would get up with the chickens.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • If you want to see the sunrise, you should learn to get up with the chickens.

  • She decided to get up with the chickens during her summer vacation for a fresh start.

Synonyms

to get up early
vsto get up with the chickens
65 1.0

To rise from bed early in the morning

is about leaving bed very early, notably at or before dawn
to rise early
vsto get up with the chickens
3 1.0

To get out of bed early in the morning

focuses on leaving bed very early especially at or before dawn
up with the lark
vsto get up with the chickens
  • UK
1 9.1

Awake and active very early in the morning

refers to leaving bed at or before dawn rather than general early activity
to beat the cock
vsto get up with the chickens
  • Archaic
9.9

Get up very early before sunrise

is used for leaving bed at or before dawn rather than only before sunrise
to wake up with the chickens
vsto get up with the chickens
  • Informal
8.2

Get up very early at sunrise

covers leaving bed at or before dawn rather than only at sunrise
to rise with the lark
vsto get up with the chickens
  • UK
7.7

Wake up very early in the morning, often at sunrise

means leaving bed at or before dawn not after sunrise

Antonyms

to sleep in
55 3.0

To stay in bed later than usual in the morning

How Early

to get up with the chickens
7.9
to get up
∞ 1.0
to sleep in
55 3.0

Surface Forms

get up with the chickens infinitive
got up with the chickens past
got up with the chickens past participle
getting up with the chickens present participle
gets up with the chickens third person singular

Morphology

get + up + with + the + chicken

The meaning can be partly inferred from the parts: 'get up' = wake, and 'with the chickens' expresses simultaneity with animals that are active at dawn, so a learner who knows chickens wake early can deduce 'wake very early'. However, the animal-based figurative reference relies on cultural/world knowledge and is not a fully regular compositional pattern, so the sense is only partially predictable to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Get up with the chickens comes from life on farms. When the chickens start to crow at dawn, people get up with them, so it now means 'wake up very early'.