AW: [sw-l] Chicken Scratch

[Neil Bauman]

Hi Cherie:

>I always heard that referred to as "chicken feed"  ::grin::   I get 
>paid 'chicken feed' to work here at GSD.  I also heard the idiom 
>derived from the old days where employers might pay the workers in 
>barter... so they might actually get paid in =real= chicken feed, 
>(as opposed to cow feed, which would be worth more?). Today it just 
>means 'pay next to nothing'.

Just shows how things change over time and from one part of the 
country to another. I heard this where I grew up in western Canada. 
The chickens scratch to get their food--so either works.

Another thing, we wouldn't have said "chicken scratch" for slopping 
writing, we'd have said "chicken tracks". Again slight differences in 
different parts of the country.

But they all mean basically the same. Such is the diversity and 
richness (and confusion) of English.

Regards

                                         Neil


Neil Bauman, Ph.D.
Center for Hearing Loss Help
49 Piston Court
Stewartstown, PA 17363
Phone: (717) 993-8555
FAX: (717) 993-6661
Email: neil at hearinglosshelp.com
Website: http://www.hearinglosshelp.com