a little bird told me
I heard it from a secret source
TRANSLATION
a little bird told me = Das hat mir ein Vöglein gezwitschert --- GOOGLE INDEX a little bird told me: approximately 7,000,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME you like gin very much! Duchess of Cornwall delights 94-year-old war veteran with an unusual gift at Royal Chelsea Hospital.
(Daily Mail Online headline)
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A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME that you love me
And I believe that you do
This little bird told me I was fallin'
Fallin' for no one but you.
(from the song A Little Bird Told Me by Conway Twitty)
(Daily Mail Online headline)
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A LITTLE BIRD TOLD ME that you love me
And I believe that you do
This little bird told me I was fallin'
Fallin' for no one but you.
(from the song A Little Bird Told Me by Conway Twitty)
Did you
know?
a little bird told me
idiom
- said if you know who gave you the information being discussed but do not want to say who it was
(Cambridge Dictionaries)
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Most linguists believe the expression "a little bird told me" has Biblical origins. Ecclesiastes 10:20 says for instance:
"For a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter."
Another theory involves King Solomon. As the story goes, all the birds of the air were summoned to him but the Lapwing (a species of bird) did not appear. The Lapwing later explained that he had been with the Queen of Sheba and that she had indicated she intended to visit Solomon.
The King began to make preparations for the visit. Meanwhile, the Lapwing flew to the Queen and told her that the King had a great desire to see her.
Novelists have also incorporated the phrase, such as Jonathan Swift in A Letter To Stella:
"I heard a little bird say so."
There are plenty of modern references to this expression, including the little bird that follows Snow White around whispering in her ear in the Walt Disney movie version of the story.
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SYNONYMS
I have it on good authority that..., reliable sources tell me that..., someone who shall go unnamed told me that...I heard it through the grapevine (implies a rumour)
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"A little bird told me that she will be promoted to department manager."
idiom
- said if you know who gave you the information being discussed but do not want to say who it was
(Cambridge Dictionaries)
---
Most linguists believe the expression "a little bird told me" has Biblical origins. Ecclesiastes 10:20 says for instance:
"For a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and that which hath wings shall tell the matter."
Another theory involves King Solomon. As the story goes, all the birds of the air were summoned to him but the Lapwing (a species of bird) did not appear. The Lapwing later explained that he had been with the Queen of Sheba and that she had indicated she intended to visit Solomon.
The King began to make preparations for the visit. Meanwhile, the Lapwing flew to the Queen and told her that the King had a great desire to see her.
Novelists have also incorporated the phrase, such as Jonathan Swift in A Letter To Stella:
"I heard a little bird say so."
There are plenty of modern references to this expression, including the little bird that follows Snow White around whispering in her ear in the Walt Disney movie version of the story.
---
SYNONYMS
I have it on good authority that..., reliable sources tell me that..., someone who shall go unnamed told me that...I heard it through the grapevine (implies a rumour)
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"A little bird told me that she will be promoted to department manager."
