red canary in the coal mine

[Jonathan Lighter]

Because yellow just means caution.

JL

On Tue, May 11, 2010 at 3:10 PM, Rick Barr <rickbarremail at gmail.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Rick Barr <rickbarremail at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: red canary in the coal mine
>
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>
> I did get a Google hit, from 2007. It's comment No. 19 here:
> http://aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8628
>
> The meaning seems to be comparable to the one you reported on MSNBC.
>
> -- Rick
>
> <http://aussiestockforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=8628>
>
> On Tue, May 11, 2010 at 1:43 PM, Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
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> > Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> > Poster:       Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at GMAIL.COM>
> > Subject:      red canary in the coal mine
> >
> >
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> >
> > On MSNBC a few minutes ago, Savannah Guthrie referred to Senator
> > Robert Bennett's defeat in Utah as "the red canary in the coal mine,"
> > meaning, I think, that it's a harbinger for Republican incumbents.
> > The phrase gets no Google hits, so it might be original and a one-off.
> >  Not bad if it's original.
> >
> > Herb
> >
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