"stone the crows" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "Originally Australian English of 1910s, \"referring to the former occupation of watching over cornfields and stoning crows that attempt to plunder the crop.\"",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "stone the crows",
      "name": "en-interj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "intj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "British English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Commonwealth English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English imperative sentences",
          "parents": [
            "Imperative sentences",
            "Sentences"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Irish English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1924, C. J. Dennis, “Rose Of Spadgers”, in Sentimental Bloke and Other Verses, published 1988, page 86:",
          "text": "“Why, stone the crows! I′ll look yous up,” sez ′e. / “I need some friends: I ain′t got wife nor chick.”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 141:",
          "text": "The he pinched himself to make sure he was really awake, \"Stone the crows!\" he said softly. \"Stone the crows!\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1988, Janette Turner Hospital, Charades, page 63:",
          "text": "So I says to meself: stone the crows, I′m a doomed man, might as well shoot through. It was cyclone time, see, and there′s been flash floods and this rock as big as a house has gone.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Norman Jorgensen, Jack′s Island, ReadHowYouWant, published 2011, page 170:",
          "text": "‘Stone the crows,’ I whispered in sheer relief.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Generalized expression of surprise or amazement, or just for emphasis."
      ],
      "id": "en-stone_the_crows-en-intj-RSZ5bFxi",
      "links": [
        [
          "surprise",
          "surprise#English"
        ],
        [
          "amazement",
          "amazement#English"
        ],
        [
          "emphasis",
          "emphasis#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, colloquial) Generalized expression of surprise or amazement, or just for emphasis."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "sense": "expression of surprise",
          "word": "holy cow"
        },
        {
          "sense": "expression of surprise",
          "word": "stone me"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Commonwealth",
        "Ireland",
        "UK",
        "colloquial"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-stone the crows.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b5/En-au-stone_the_crows.ogg/En-au-stone_the_crows.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/En-au-stone_the_crows.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "stone the crows"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "Originally Australian English of 1910s, \"referring to the former occupation of watching over cornfields and stoning crows that attempt to plunder the crop.\"",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "stone the crows",
      "name": "en-interj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "intj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "British English",
        "Commonwealth English",
        "English colloquialisms",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English imperative sentences",
        "English interjections",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Irish English",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1924, C. J. Dennis, “Rose Of Spadgers”, in Sentimental Bloke and Other Verses, published 1988, page 86:",
          "text": "“Why, stone the crows! I′ll look yous up,” sez ′e. / “I need some friends: I ain′t got wife nor chick.”",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 141:",
          "text": "The he pinched himself to make sure he was really awake, \"Stone the crows!\" he said softly. \"Stone the crows!\"",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1988, Janette Turner Hospital, Charades, page 63:",
          "text": "So I says to meself: stone the crows, I′m a doomed man, might as well shoot through. It was cyclone time, see, and there′s been flash floods and this rock as big as a house has gone.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008, Norman Jorgensen, Jack′s Island, ReadHowYouWant, published 2011, page 170:",
          "text": "‘Stone the crows,’ I whispered in sheer relief.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Generalized expression of surprise or amazement, or just for emphasis."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "surprise",
          "surprise#English"
        ],
        [
          "amazement",
          "amazement#English"
        ],
        [
          "emphasis",
          "emphasis#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(UK, Ireland, Commonwealth, colloquial) Generalized expression of surprise or amazement, or just for emphasis."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Commonwealth",
        "Ireland",
        "UK",
        "colloquial"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-stone the crows.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b5/En-au-stone_the_crows.ogg/En-au-stone_the_crows.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/En-au-stone_the_crows.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "expression of surprise",
      "word": "holy cow"
    },
    {
      "sense": "expression of surprise",
      "word": "stone me"
    }
  ],
  "word": "stone the crows"
}