get the bird
idiom

(esp. of a public performer) to be hissed at, booed, or derided

(Collins Dictionary)

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ORIGIN

The expression comes from the late 1800s, when "give the big bird" meant "to hiss like a goose", and this was directed at performers on a stage or players in a sporting competition. Use of the phrase continued in the 1920s to refer to boos and hisses from the audience during vaudeville shows.

In the short story "Jeeves & the Song of Songs" (1929) by P.G. Wodehouse, the character Bertie Wooster used the expression to mean that someone was booed during a public performance.

By the 1940s "give the bird" was used more generally to refer to raising the middle finger at someone as a way to show extreme displeasure. Of course, this gesture is very rude.

The "up yours" hand gesture has been used as a symbol of defiance and anger for a long time and in many cultures.

Particularly in US English, when we direct this gesture at someone, we say we "flip the bird." or "flip someone off". This may come from the idea that the performer who gets the bird then throws ("flips") the criticism back to the audience.


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SYNONYMS

to be booed off the stage, to be mocked, to get catcalls


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Practice OWAD in a conversation:

"Poor John's presentation was terrible. He was totally unprepared. It's no wonder he GOT THE BIRD!"