Is there someone in your life you know so well that you can almost predict their every move? Then today’s Italian idiom will put a smile on your face!
i know my chicken Literally means “I know my chicken”, and while I’m sorry to say we don’t have a matching idiom in English, it can be translated literally in several ways:
- I know who I’m dealing with!
- I know what kind of people they are!
- I know what they can do!
- I know them like the back of my hand!
- I know them like the back of my hand!
This amusing idiom shows that the person in question has malicious intentions and that the speaker has the expertise needed to deal with them.
You may come across this idiom in several situations: when parents (especially mothers) discuss their children, when teachers talk about their students, when adults complain about co-workers at work.
Are you sure your child will be back in time? – Yes, trust me, I know my chickens!
Are you sure your child will be back in time? – Yeah, trust me, I know exactly what they’re like.
I’ve been teaching these guys for five years and I know my chickens now!
I’ve been teaching these guys for five years, “I know my chicken”!
According to the respected Italian publishing company Zanichellithe origin of the expression is as follows:
Its origin is “I know my chickens by their socks”: In fact, at one point, chickens were roaming the streets freely and their owners identified them by tying a colorful cloth strip around their legs.
Its derived expression is “i know my sock chicken’: In the past, chickens were allowed to roam the streets freely, and their owners would identify them by tying a colored cloth strip to one of their legs.
