neither\ fish\ nor\ fowl

neither\ fish\ nor\ fowl
• neither fish nor fowl
• neither fish, flesh, nor fowl
Something or someone that does not belong to a definite group or known class; a strange person or thing; someone or something odd or hard to understand.

The man is neither fish nor fowl; he votes Democrat or Republican according to which will do him the most good.

Mrs. Harris bought a piece of furniture that was both a table and a chair. Mr. Harris said it was neither fish nor fowl.

The movie is neither fish nor fowl; it is a funny love story.


Словарь американских идиом. — СПб., Изд-во "Лань". . 1997.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Neither fish nor fowl — Fish Fish, n.; pl. {Fishes} (f[i^]sh [e^]z), or collectively, {Fish}. [OE. fisch, fisc, fis, AS. fisc; akin to D. visch, OS. & OHG. fisk, G. fisch, Icel. fiskr, Sw. & Dan. fisk, Goth. fisks, L. piscis, Ir. iasg. Cf. {Piscatorial}. In some cases,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • neither fish nor fowl — Something or someone that is neither fish nor fowl doesn t really fit into any one group …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • neither fish nor fowl — phrasal : one that does not belong to a definite class, party, or category : a nondescript person or thing; also : a person without convictions : trimmer often used in the phrase neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring * * * neither fish nor… …   Useful english dictionary

  • neither fish nor fowl — also[neither fish, flesh, nor fowl] Something or someone that does not belong to a definite group or known class; a strange person or thing; someone or something odd or hard to understand. * /The man is neither fish nor fowl; he votes Democrat or …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • neither fish nor fowl — also[neither fish, flesh, nor fowl] Something or someone that does not belong to a definite group or known class; a strange person or thing; someone or something odd or hard to understand. * /The man is neither fish nor fowl; he votes Democrat or …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • neither fish nor fowl —    Something or someone that is neither fish nor fowl doesn t really fit into any one group.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    People or things that are difficult to classify because they are neither one thing nor another are neither fish… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • neither fish nor fowl — not clearly separated, a little of both    Our experiment produced a being that was neither fish nor fowl …   English idioms

  • neither fish nor fowl — something that does not belong to a definite group I don t know where we should put those books in the library. They are neither fish nor fowl …   Idioms and examples

  • Neither fish nor fowl —   Something or someone that is neither fish nor fowl doesn t really fit into any one group …   Dictionary of English idioms

  • neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring — anything not belonging to a particular class or category; indefinite; indeterminate; to be hesitant or undecided; having no specific characteristics; neither one thing nor the other. May appear as neither fish nor good red herring, neither fish… …   Dictionary of ichthyology

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