yard bird
- noun
- Slang
:
preso
- After years as a yard bird, he finally got parole and tried to start a new life.
Examples
-
The guards caught two yard birds trying to sneak contraband during recreation time.
-
Many yard birds form alliances in prison.
-
As a young yard bird, he learned quickly whom to trust and whom to avoid.
-
He is just a yard bird trying to survive.
-
After years as a yard bird, he finally got parole and tried to start a new life.
-
As a young yard bird, he learned quickly whom to trust and whom to avoid.
-
The guards caught two yard birds trying to sneak contraband during recreation time.
Synonyms
337
3.5
A person kept in a prison, hospital, or similar place
137
3.2
A person who has been found guilty of a crime and is in prison
98
7.4
A person serving time in prison
14
7.8
A person who often goes to prison for crimes
A person serving time in jail or prison
Surface Forms
Morphology
yard + bird
The slang sense 'prison inmate' is not predictable from the literal meanings of 'yard' (an outdoor area) and 'bird' (a feathered animal). This is an idiomatic/slang label whose link to incarceration is cultural and regional, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would not reliably infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Yard bird may come from the prison yard, where inmates spend time outside but cannot leave, like birds kept in a yard. That clear image explains why the slang use of yard bird means 'a person serving a sentence in jail'.