[PW] naked as a jaybird

[Bill Davis]

It's been suggested that the expression had its orgin in the Blue Jay being 
born featherless.   Another theory says that the Blue Jay is a large, 
distinctive, and aggressive bird, and that "naked" was originally intended 
to mean "unconcealed"  -- as in "naked ambition -- rather than being a 
reference to nudity.  If that was the case, "bold as brass" would be a 
similar expression.

Bill Davis






At 01:50 PM 5/4/2008, you wrote:


>I'm frustrated in my attempts to tie this one down. Evan Morris (The Word
>Detective) and Christine Ammer (Cool Cats, Top Dogs, and Other Beastly
>Expressions) are two wordsmiths who at least tried to formulate an answer, 
>but they give
>nothing definitive. I have also learned that it's "naked as a robin" in
>Britain.
>
>So the essence of my question is, why a jaybird?
>
>
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