chicken out
to lose courage because of fear
TRANSLATION
chicken out = den Schwanz einziehen, sich verdrücken, vor etw. kneifen/drücken
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"Three models scheduled to take part at the Miss Tourism Zimbabwe finals CHICKENED OUT, either because they failed to buy the necessary clothes on time, or feared too much competition."
www allafrica com
---
"Tony Blair says that climate change is the biggest long-term threat the planet faces. But once again his chancellor has CHICKENED OUT of tackling it."
The Guardian
Did you
know?
chicken out
informal verbal phrase
- to decide not to do something because one is afraid
(Merriam-Webster)
---
WORD ORIGIN
This phrase, meaning to back down or fail through cowardice was first recorded in 1943, during World War II.
The game of chicken was first recorded a decade later in 1953 in the United States. In the 1955 film classic "Rebel Without a Cause", James Dean is challenged by his high school nemesis to a game of chicken in which they drive their cars towards a cliff to see who will be the last person to jump out of the car. If you don't know the film, we won't spoil this scene for you by telling you who “chickens out” first.
---
SYNONYMS
back out, back down, back-pedal, bow out, climb down, cop out, cry off, get cold feet, go back on a promise, lose one's nerve, pull out, retract, reverse oneself, shy from, wimp out
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into a conversation, say something like:
“It sometimes happens that he who CHICKENS OUT lives to fight another day.”
