clucking hen

A clucking hen sits on a nest of straw.

Definition

1. Noun (Compound):
   • A broody female chicken: A "clucking hen" refers to a hen that is emitting a soft, repetitive clucking sound, typically while sitting on eggs to incubate them or when caring for her chicks. The term emphasizes the characteristic vocalization associated with maternal behavior in poultry.

Usage Examples

• (Describes a hen making clucking sounds while brooding eggs.)
• (Highlights the hen's nurturing role and vocalization.)

Advanced Usage

• "Like a clucking hen": A simile used to describe someone who is overly fussy, protective, or talkative in a repetitive manner.
  • She fusses over her guests like a clucking hen, offering them snacks and blankets every five minutes. (Compares excessive care to a hen's maternal clucking.)

Variants and Related Words

• Cluck (n): the short, low sound made by a hen.
  • The hen gave a soft cluck to call her chicks. (The sound itself.)
• Cluck (v): to make such a sound.
  • The hen clucked anxiously when a stranger approached. (The action of making the sound.)
• Hen (n): a female chicken, especially one that lays eggs or broods.
  • The hen has been sitting on her eggs for three weeks. (The bird itself.)

Synonyms

• Broody hen: a hen that is ready to sit on eggs for hatching.
• Setting hen: a hen that is incubating eggs.
• Mother hen: a hen caring for her chicks; also used figuratively for an overprotective person.

Related Idioms

• "To cluck like a hen": to make repetitive, fussy, or maternal sounds or comments.
  • The grandmother clucked like a hen over her grandchildren's safety. (Expresses anxious, doting behavior.)
• "To have a hen on the nest": to have a secret or a plan in progress.
  • They've been quiet about the project — they have a hen on the nest. (Metaphor for something being incubated or developed.)