Phrase Finder

Salt on your tail feathers

Posted by RRC April 07, 2008 at 16:24:In reply to Salt on your tail feathers posted by Tabb Wierengo on April 07, 2008 at 14:09:

Have you ever heard the term/phrase - "I just wanted to put a little salt on your tail feathers"?

There is an old saying that you can catch a bird if you sprinkle salt on its tail. Wordsworth Dictionary of Proverbs (in Google Books) shows it goes back to at least 1580.