to eat like a bird
1
6.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
comer como un pajarito
- "She says she eats like a bird, having only a small salad for lunch."
- eaten like a bird all day
Examples
-
You're eating like a bird.
Fiction book (1992) -
"You eat like a bird," Rajinder's mother said, looking at me and smiling.
Fiction book (1995) -
You know, actually, I eat like a bird.
-
You eat like a bird.
-
You eat like a bird.
-
- You're eating like a bird there, huh?
-
Rianna Powell eats like a bird.
Fiction book (2002) -
She eats like a horse and her sister eats like a bird.
Fiction book (1994) -
You eat like a bird, you'd scold in what we both called—though neither of ours sounded anything like it—a Mother Voice.
Fiction book (1992) -
"Despite being on a diet, he continues to eat like a bird at every meal."
Synonyms
116
3.6
To eat small amounts and not finish a meal
9
3.4
To eat small, quick bites like a bird
5
3.8
Eat small amounts of food during the day instead of a full meal
4
8.2
To eat a small snack between meals
1
4.7
To eat only a little food and not show interest
1
4.2
Do something slowly and without interest, often doing only small parts
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is built compositionally as 'eat' + 'like a bird' so a learner who knows similes and the stereotype that birds eat small amounts can infer the meaning 'eat very little.' However, this inference depends on world/cultural knowledge about birds and the use of a simile, so the exact sense is not fully predictable for all B1 learners without exposure. Similar simile patterns exist in many languages, which helps inferability but still leaves it only partially transparent.
Etymology
The idiom eat like a bird comes from the picture of small birds that peck tiny bits of food. So, to eat like a bird means 'to eat very little'.