chicken feed
Definition
- Noun:
- A very small or insignificant amount of money: "chicken feed" is an informal term used to describe a sum of money that is considered trivial, paltry, or not worth much.
- Dry mash for poultry: In its literal sense, "chicken feed" refers to commercially prepared dry food for chickens and other domestic fowl.
Usage
- The term is primarily used in informal, often conversational, contexts to dismiss an amount of money as being too small to be significant or worth considering.
- The literal meaning is used in agricultural or farming contexts.
Examples
- Noun (figurative, small amount of money):
- To a billionaire, a thousand dollars is just chicken feed.
- They offered me a job, but the salary was chicken feed compared to my current one.
- Noun (literal, poultry food):
- I need to buy a new bag of chicken feed for the coop.
Advanced Usage
- The figurative use often implies a comparison, suggesting that what is "chicken feed" to one person or entity might be significant to another.
- It can be used dismissively in negotiations or discussions about payment.
Variants and Related Words
- Peanuts (n, informal): Another informal synonym for a very small amount of money.
- He's working for peanuts at that startup.
- Pittance (n): A very small or inadequate amount of money paid to someone as an allowance or wage.
- They survive on a pittance.
Synonyms
- Trifle: Something of little value or importance.
- Mere pittance: An extremely small allowance or amount of money.
- Small change: Coins of low value; figuratively, an insignificant amount.
Related Phrases
- Not worth a hill of beans: To be of very little value or importance.
- His opinion on the matter isn't worth a hill of beans.
- Drop in the bucket: A very small amount compared to what is needed or expected.
- My donation was just a drop in the bucket for such a large charity.
Notes
- The term's figurative meaning derives from the idea that food for chickens is cheap and plentiful.
- It is important to distinguish this term from the unrelated, dated slang term for the drug methamphetamine, which is now obsolete and not the primary meaning. The requested definition referencing "Methedrine" is a separate, specific slang usage not covered here as per the instruction to explain the single, isolated target phrase "chicken feed."
Noun
-
an amphetamine derivative (trade name Methedrine) used in the form of a crystalline hydrochloride; used as a stimulant to the nervous system and as an appetite suppressant
-
dry mash for poultry
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