And chickens, being further removed from their wild form, are probably stupider yet. I do have to grant, at least, that there’s no documented case of a sheep living for years after decapitation.
I think he was making a joke based on the earlier reference to Back to the Future, where Biff tells Marty to “make like a tree and get out of here.”
:smack:
Yea samclem, so make like a banana and get the flock outta here!
somebody connect it to white feathers or the 4 feathers 'cause i’m too lazy to do it.
According to this Middle English dictionary, “chicken” meant a young fowl or the young of any bird.
We also see the usage “cherles chekyn,” (as noted by samclem above) meaning “son of a churl,” and “fendes chike,” meaning “the devil’s offspring.” (I’m guessing “fende” became our “fiend.”)
So that’s several usages that imply, at least to my fevered brain, that “chick” or “chicken,” meaning “young fowl,” could be used to connote being something’s baby, rather than being a member of a particular species. (Think of the modern usage “when I was a pup.”)
From there, it’s not that much of a stretch to imagine that when a Middle English speaker called you “chicken,” he was calling you a tender, inexperienced baby-- the sort who’s not much good in a fight.
I’m not a linguist or anything, but this would make sense to me.