Sunday, October 21, 2012

Mad As A Wet Hen

That's a real expression, right?

"Mad as a wet hen." I always imagined wet, angry chooks, running around, dodging rain drops. Mad about being all wet.

And then. Then I noticed my own chicas ran out into the rain, and paid no mind at all to getting soaked through, sopping and silly. So, I thought "Mad as a wet hen," makes no sense at all.

But! Suddenly. It dawns on me: It's not about angry, wet hens. They are Mad...

a : completely unrestrained by reason and judgment

b : incapable of being explained or accounted for

c: carried away by enthusiasm or desire

d: marked by wild gaiety and merriment

e: marked by intense and often chaotic activity!


Mad and silly, and sloppy, wet and muddy, nutty, daft hens.

5 comments:

judy in ky said...

a,b,c,d,e.... sounds like a formula for a lot of fun! I don't know much about hens, but they sure look like fun.

Anonymous said...

Ha ha, how adorable! My girls don't mind the rain at all. I do mind the stinky coop and mud when they track it all inside of the coop though.

Quilter Steph said...

I love the pic of their chicken butts! My grown-woman daughter said it would make a great quilt! :)

nikkipolani said...

Well, I'm glad to learn about the etymology of a phrase I'd never even heard of! Your hens look utterly content -- rain doesn't seem to faze them a bit.

My favorite new word is "banjaxed" (means something is broken). Can't seem to find a backstory for that one.

And good luck with your pomegranate tree. I reeeeeally wanted one, but since my kind neighbors are so generous, I'll just enjoy theirs.

Kim said...

Ahh! I love it. This made me smile!