- English translation
Nothing feathered is left in the henhouse but the clipped birds and the sickly ones.
- Literal wording
There remained in the coop no feathers except the clipped and the weak.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying pictures a poultry coop in which the only birds still roosting are ones with clipped feathers and ones too feeble to be of much use. Nothing sound or worth keeping is left among them; the stock has dwindled to its poorest members.
Turned toward people, it describes those whose holdings have shrunk to worthless trifles that serve no real purpose. The remark sums up a situation stripped of anything of value, leaving only odds and ends that nobody would count as a real asset.
- When it is used
Say it when the useful or valuable part of something is gone and only scraps remain, such as depleted stock, an emptied household, or a group reduced to its least capable members. It suits a wry remark about a poor remainder.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
Report an issue with this meaning: Nothing feathered is left in the henhouse but the clipped birds and the sickly ones.