In todays’ IMDB news, Paul Bettany describes Lars von Trier as “mad as a chicken with lips.”
What a fabulous expression! Has anyone heard it before? Can you top it? (This is truly an M and P thread, since I am starting it merely to repeat the expression, “mad as a chicken with lips.” My life has been transformed with this new addition to my vocabulary of invective.)
Not to nitpick, but what does it mean? “Mad” as in crazy? Angry? And would having lips cause that reaction in the chicken or is it the other way around?
It is a magnificent expression (as are most involving poultry), but only until you stop to analyze it.
I dunno. I’m usually thrilled to have lips on my pecker.
Mad as in crazy (as is clear in the context of the story here – scroll down to “Odd Start…”).
Now, as to which came first, the chicken’s lips or the chicken’s madness, I’ll leave that to those more cognizant than I of the nature of the psychodynamics of fowl self-image.
Why stop to analyze it? What’s the point of that?
It’s a neat metaphor. Let it remain at that.
OK. It makes perfect sense now. Thank you.
I’ve had a foul self-image for as long as I can remember, yet this conundrum leaves me completely baffled.
After all, why would a chicken be angry about having lips? 
I would call this a simile not a metaphor.
My favorite had beed Madder than a wone-legged man at a butt-kickin’ contest.
I remember there being a lot of good ones on the DBMD a while ago, including wall paper hangers and berry pickers.
Well, when you have to peck the dirt to get your meal and instead of a brisk “peck, peck, peck” you go “smoosh, smoosh, smoosh”… I dunno, I’d be pissed.
I’d been thinking Miss Prissy (Foghorn Leghorn’s lady friend) wore lipstick, which would tend to mean she had lips, but apparently I was wrong about that.
It must be for the reason Eats_Crayons has suggested.
Ain’t nature grand?