River Zedd
What does " No early birds." mean in this situation? She's selling her items at a yard sale and she says "Ladies, ladies, I specifically said, ' No early birds' ." I know she's trying to attract buyers, but what does this expression " No early birds" mean in this context? Is it a fixed phrase? Could I use this expression in some other circumstances? Thank you for your help!
Jul 22, 2016 5:41 AM
Answers · 2
3
We have a saying "the early bird catches the worm" meaning the people who move swiftly and act early have an advantage. I am wondering in this case, maybe she means to be fair to everyone, she doesn't want some people arriving before the announced opening time for the yard sale. People might do that to gain an unfair advantage by being able to look at the full choice of items before others had a chance to see everything, and thus take the best things for themselves. That is my best guest about this situation anyway. Just for fun, some people also say "the early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese" meaning the first mouse has died in the mousetrap so the second one gets to eat the cheese! That is just a joke saying however.
July 22, 2016
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!