"oof-bird" meaning in English

See oof-bird in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: oof-birds [plural]
Etymology: UK late 19th century–1910s. Head templates: {{en-noun}} oof-bird (plural oof-birds)
  1. (dated, idiomatic, British slang) Any source or supplier of money. Tags: British, dated, idiomatic, slang Synonyms: golden goose, oof-bag Hyponyms: feathered oof-bird (english: large source)
    Sense id: en-oof-bird-en-noun-wAIlbk5x Categories (other): English entries with incorrect language header

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

Download JSON data for oof-bird meaning in English (2.0kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "UK late 19th century–1910s.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "oof-birds",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "oof-bird (plural oof-birds)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1888 December 27, The Sportsman",
          "text": "It is a sad and weary time for many, for when the dustman, the man who blacks the boots, and he with the grog-blossom on his nose who does nothing but hold cab-doors open when nobody asks him to have all been paid, the oof bird takes unto itself wings and flies away.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1897, Richard Marsh, “The Picture”, in The Beetle",
          "text": "The probability is that he's a crackpot; and if he isn't, he has some little game on foot — in close association with the hunt of the oof-bird! — which he tried to work off on me, but couldn't'.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1937 August 28, “The Oof-bird Feeds on Pennies”, in The Argus, page 36",
          "text": "If you make an oof-bird and feed him properly all the time, you will grow rich.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Peter Van Wyk, “The Call to Monomotapa”, in Burnham: King of Scouts, page 65",
          "text": "\"I guess you're attracted to Africa by the lure of the Oof bird,\" Gifford said eagerly smearing a layer of orange marmalade on thick bread roasted over the campfire.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any source or supplier of money."
      ],
      "hyponyms": [
        {
          "english": "large source",
          "word": "feathered oof-bird"
        }
      ],
      "id": "en-oof-bird-en-noun-wAIlbk5x",
      "links": [
        [
          "source",
          "source"
        ],
        [
          "supplier",
          "supplier"
        ],
        [
          "money",
          "money"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(dated, idiomatic, British slang) Any source or supplier of money."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "golden goose"
        },
        {
          "word": "oof-bag"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "dated",
        "idiomatic",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "oof-bird"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "UK late 19th century–1910s.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "oof-birds",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "oof-bird (plural oof-birds)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyponyms": [
    {
      "english": "large source",
      "word": "feathered oof-bird"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British slang",
        "English countable nouns",
        "English dated terms",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1888 December 27, The Sportsman",
          "text": "It is a sad and weary time for many, for when the dustman, the man who blacks the boots, and he with the grog-blossom on his nose who does nothing but hold cab-doors open when nobody asks him to have all been paid, the oof bird takes unto itself wings and flies away.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1897, Richard Marsh, “The Picture”, in The Beetle",
          "text": "The probability is that he's a crackpot; and if he isn't, he has some little game on foot — in close association with the hunt of the oof-bird! — which he tried to work off on me, but couldn't'.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1937 August 28, “The Oof-bird Feeds on Pennies”, in The Argus, page 36",
          "text": "If you make an oof-bird and feed him properly all the time, you will grow rich.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2003, Peter Van Wyk, “The Call to Monomotapa”, in Burnham: King of Scouts, page 65",
          "text": "\"I guess you're attracted to Africa by the lure of the Oof bird,\" Gifford said eagerly smearing a layer of orange marmalade on thick bread roasted over the campfire.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Any source or supplier of money."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "source",
          "source"
        ],
        [
          "supplier",
          "supplier"
        ],
        [
          "money",
          "money"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(dated, idiomatic, British slang) Any source or supplier of money."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "British",
        "dated",
        "idiomatic",
        "slang"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "golden goose"
    },
    {
      "word": "oof-bag"
    }
  ],
  "word": "oof-bird"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-31 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (91e95e7 and db5a844). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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