"a little bird told me" meaning in English

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  "etymology_text": "The etymology is unknown; in English sources, references to birds passing along information to people date back to at least the 16th century (see the 1546 quotation), and in other languages even earlier. For example, Ecclesiastes 10:20 in the Bible, the original Hebrew version of which is dated to 450–180 B.C.E., states according to the King James Version (spelling modernized): “Curse not the king, no not in thy thought, and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.”",
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  "hyphenation": [
    "a"
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Let’s just say I know because a little bird told me.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1872 July, [George Webbe Dasent], “Three to One: Or Some Passages out of the Life of Amicia Lady Sweetapple. Chapter XLVIII. Lady Sweetapple Sees Lady Charity, and Hears Something of Edith Price.”, in M[ary] E[lizabeth] Braddon, editor, Belgravia: A London Magazine, volume VIII (Second Series; volume XVIII overall), London: Robson and Sons, […], →OCLC, page 104",
          "text": "‘Is Harry Fortescue in love with Florry Carlton?’ asked Lady Charity. ‘A little bird told me he was as good as engaged to her.’",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Anna Elliott, “Saturday 21 May 1814”, in Georgiana Darcy’s Diary: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Continued, [U.S.A.]: Wilton Press, page 136",
          "text": "A little bird told me you were likely to be soon engaged—and to an earl's nephew […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose."
      ],
      "id": "en-a_little_bird_told_me-en-phrase-d9Vhflo4",
      "links": [
        [
          "humorous",
          "humorous"
        ],
        [
          "received",
          "receive#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "information",
          "information"
        ],
        [
          "source",
          "source#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "prepared",
          "prepare#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "disclose",
          "disclose#Verb"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, chiefly humorous) I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "hear through the grapevine"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "rumour has it"
        },
        {
          "word": "word has it"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "ʕuṣfūr ṣaḡīr ʔaḵbaranī",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "عُصْفُور صَغِير أَخْبَرَنِي"
        },
        {
          "code": "eu",
          "lang": "Basque",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "txori txiki batek esan zidan"
        },
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "ednó ptíčence mi káza",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "едно́ пти́ченце ми ка́за"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "私下聽說"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "私下听说"
        },
        {
          "code": "da",
          "lang": "Danish",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "høre en lille fugl synge om"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "pikkulinnut lauloivat"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "mon petit doigt m’a dit"
        },
        {
          "code": "ka",
          "lang": "Georgian",
          "note": "ჩიტმა ამბავი მომიტანა (čiṭma ambavi momiṭana, literally “a little bird brought me the story”)",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "ein Vöglein hat mir gezwitschert"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "mou to 'pe éna pouláki",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "μου το 'πε ένα πουλάκι"
        },
        {
          "code": "he",
          "lang": "Hebrew",
          "roman": "tsipor ktana lahasha li",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "ציפור קטנה לחשה לי"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "a verebek csiripelték"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "a kismadarak csiripelték"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "lítill fugl hvíslaði að mér"
        },
        {
          "code": "is",
          "lang": "Icelandic",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "lítill fugl sagði mér"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "un uccellino mi ha detto che ..."
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "roman": "chīsana tori ga watashi ni itta",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "小さな鳥が私に言った"
        },
        {
          "code": "ko",
          "lang": "Korean",
          "roman": "jageun saega na'ege malhaetda.",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "작은 새가 나에게 말했다."
        },
        {
          "code": "mk",
          "lang": "Macedonian",
          "roman": "edno vrapče mi kaža",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "едно врапче ми кажа"
        },
        {
          "code": "mt",
          "lang": "Maltese",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "għasfur żgħir qali"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "en liten fugl hvisket meg i øret"
        },
        {
          "code": "nb",
          "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "en liten fugl sa det"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "ptaszki o tym ćwierkają"
        },
        {
          "code": "pt",
          "lang": "Portuguese",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "um passarinho me contou"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "mné ptíčka našeptála",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "мне́ пти́чка нашепта́ла"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "слу́хом земля́ по́лнится (slúxom zemljá pólnitsja, literally “the rumour fills the earth”)",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "соро́ка на хвосте́ принесла́ (soróka na xvosté prineslá, literally “a magpie brought it on its tail”)",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "tags": [
            "Cyrillic"
          ],
          "word": "шапнула ми птичица"
        },
        {
          "code": "sh",
          "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "tags": [
            "Roman"
          ],
          "word": "šapnula mi ptičica"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "un pajarito me dijo"
        },
        {
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "un pajarito me lo contó"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "en liten fågel kvittrade i mitt öra"
        },
        {
          "code": "tr",
          "lang": "Turkish",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "kuşlar söyledi"
        },
        {
          "code": "zza",
          "lang": "Zazaki",
          "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
          "word": "mıriçıka va"
        }
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Ecclesiastes"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ə ˌlɪtl̩ bɜːd ˈtəʊld miː/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ə ˌlɪt(ə)l bɜɹd ˈtoʊld mi/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[-ˌlɪɾ(ə)l-]",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "En-au-a little bird told me.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c4/En-au-a_little_bird_told_me.ogg/En-au-a_little_bird_told_me.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/En-au-a_little_bird_told_me.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "a little bird told me"
}

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  "etymology_text": "The etymology is unknown; in English sources, references to birds passing along information to people date back to at least the 16th century (see the 1546 quotation), and in other languages even earlier. For example, Ecclesiastes 10:20 in the Bible, the original Hebrew version of which is dated to 450–180 B.C.E., states according to the King James Version (spelling modernized): “Curse not the king, no not in thy thought, and curse not the rich in thy bed-chamber: for a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter.”",
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      "expansion": "a little bird told me",
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    "a"
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "hear through the grapevine"
    }
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  "senses": [
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        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
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        "English terms with usage examples",
        "Undetermined quotations with omitted translation",
        "Undetermined terms with quotations"
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      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Let’s just say I know because a little bird told me.",
          "type": "example"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1872 July, [George Webbe Dasent], “Three to One: Or Some Passages out of the Life of Amicia Lady Sweetapple. Chapter XLVIII. Lady Sweetapple Sees Lady Charity, and Hears Something of Edith Price.”, in M[ary] E[lizabeth] Braddon, editor, Belgravia: A London Magazine, volume VIII (Second Series; volume XVIII overall), London: Robson and Sons, […], →OCLC, page 104",
          "text": "‘Is Harry Fortescue in love with Florry Carlton?’ asked Lady Charity. ‘A little bird told me he was as good as engaged to her.’",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012, Anna Elliott, “Saturday 21 May 1814”, in Georgiana Darcy’s Diary: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Continued, [U.S.A.]: Wilton Press, page 136",
          "text": "A little bird told me you were likely to be soon engaged—and to an earl's nephew […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "humorous",
          "humorous"
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        [
          "received",
          "receive#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "information",
          "information"
        ],
        [
          "source",
          "source#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "prepared",
          "prepare#Verb"
        ],
        [
          "disclose",
          "disclose#Verb"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, chiefly humorous) I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "rumour has it"
        },
        {
          "word": "word has it"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "humorous",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "Ecclesiastes"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
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      "ipa": "/ə ˌlɪtl̩ bɜːd ˈtəʊld miː/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/ə ˌlɪt(ə)l bɜɹd ˈtoʊld mi/",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
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    },
    {
      "ipa": "[-ˌlɪɾ(ə)l-]",
      "tags": [
        "General-American"
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      "audio": "En-au-a little bird told me.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/c4/En-au-a_little_bird_told_me.ogg/En-au-a_little_bird_told_me.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/En-au-a_little_bird_told_me.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "ʕuṣfūr ṣaḡīr ʔaḵbaranī",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "عُصْفُور صَغِير أَخْبَرَنِي"
    },
    {
      "code": "eu",
      "lang": "Basque",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "txori txiki batek esan zidan"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "ednó ptíčence mi káza",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "едно́ пти́ченце ми ка́за"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "私下聽說"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "私下听说"
    },
    {
      "code": "da",
      "lang": "Danish",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "høre en lille fugl synge om"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "pikkulinnut lauloivat"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "mon petit doigt m’a dit"
    },
    {
      "code": "ka",
      "lang": "Georgian",
      "note": "ჩიტმა ამბავი მომიტანა (čiṭma ambavi momiṭana, literally “a little bird brought me the story”)",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "ein Vöglein hat mir gezwitschert"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "mou to 'pe éna pouláki",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "μου το 'πε ένα πουλάκι"
    },
    {
      "code": "he",
      "lang": "Hebrew",
      "roman": "tsipor ktana lahasha li",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "ציפור קטנה לחשה לי"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "a verebek csiripelték"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "a kismadarak csiripelték"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "lítill fugl hvíslaði að mér"
    },
    {
      "code": "is",
      "lang": "Icelandic",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "lítill fugl sagði mér"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "un uccellino mi ha detto che ..."
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "roman": "chīsana tori ga watashi ni itta",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "小さな鳥が私に言った"
    },
    {
      "code": "ko",
      "lang": "Korean",
      "roman": "jageun saega na'ege malhaetda.",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "작은 새가 나에게 말했다."
    },
    {
      "code": "mk",
      "lang": "Macedonian",
      "roman": "edno vrapče mi kaža",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "едно врапче ми кажа"
    },
    {
      "code": "mt",
      "lang": "Maltese",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "għasfur żgħir qali"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "en liten fugl hvisket meg i øret"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "en liten fugl sa det"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "ptaszki o tym ćwierkają"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "um passarinho me contou"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "mné ptíčka našeptála",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "мне́ пти́чка нашепта́ла"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "слу́хом земля́ по́лнится (slúxom zemljá pólnitsja, literally “the rumour fills the earth”)",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "соро́ка на хвосте́ принесла́ (soróka na xvosté prineslá, literally “a magpie brought it on its tail”)",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic"
      ],
      "word": "шапнула ми птичица"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "tags": [
        "Roman"
      ],
      "word": "šapnula mi ptičica"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "un pajarito me dijo"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "un pajarito me lo contó"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "en liten fågel kvittrade i mitt öra"
    },
    {
      "code": "tr",
      "lang": "Turkish",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "kuşlar söyledi"
    },
    {
      "code": "zza",
      "lang": "Zazaki",
      "sense": "I received the information from a source which I am not prepared to disclose",
      "word": "mıriçıka va"
    }
  ],
  "word": "a little bird told me"
}