[Ads-l] Fw: birdbrain

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The 1882 citation is excellent, Bill, but it is already listed in the OED.

[Begin OED information]
bird brain, noun
Sense 1: A brain supposed to be as small as a bird's, used in
descriptions of a person's intelligence or mental capacity.
1882 She had but just left the convent, with a little sentimentality
in her frail bird-brain. Eugene City (Oregon) Guard 4 November

Sense 2: A foolish or unintelligent person.
1926 I suppose that in 1960, my grandchildren..will shake with
laughter over a revival of ‘Abie's Irish Rose’, saying one to another,
‘What a bird-brain grandpa must have been!’ Pittsburgh Sunday Post 21
March vi. 2/8
[End OED information]

Interestingly, "bird brained" was also in use in the nineteenth century.

[Begin OED information]
bird-brained, adj.
Sense1: depreciative. Having or characterized by a brain supposed to
be as small as a bird's; foolish, unintelligent; cf. bird-witted, adj.

1892 The bird-brained people who plunge into a delirium of absurdities
on the threatening of a disaster. Bathurst (New South Wales) Free
Press & Mining Journal
[End OED information]

On Fri, Jan 26, 2024 at 10:54 AM Bill Mullins <amcombill at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> 1882 New York Dispatch 17 Sep 8/3 [genealogybank]
>
> She had but just left the convent, with a little sentimentality in her frail bird-brain, with that awkening of a heart withch beats without rhyme or reason -- with that longing for the unknown which is indefinable, which tortures and makes circles about the great curious eyes of young girls.
>
>
> 1893 Chicago Tribune 30 Apr 43/7
> So far "Bird-Brain Wiggins" carries the honors as the boss story-teller, whose hobby is climbing.
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/image/349862130/?terms=birdbrain&match=1
>
> ________________________________
> From: American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU> on behalf of Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2024 12:53 PM
> To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Subject: birdbrain
>
> 1926: OED
>
> 1916 Marsha Manning _Magic of the Moon_ (London:  Ward Lock) 117: “Only
> a bird-brain would imagine there’s any comparison between them,” Sophia
> remarked icily.
>
> JL
>
>
>
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