Where does that phrase come from and what does it mean?
Sings like a canary
December 18th, 2007 by Janine
6 Responses to “Sings like a canary”
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Teaching English to Preschoolers with iPhones
We (i.e. the creators of Pain in The English) developed a series of iPhone apps to teach preschool kids how to recognize letters and words. (My wife developed the characters and I did the coding.) Our own 4-year old daughter has been enjoying them. They are now available on Apple's App Store. You can search for "bitskis" on your iPhone, or visit the official website at bitskis.com.
If you have kids and own an iPhone, please check it out. It's $2.
dictionary.com says that a canary is "someone acting as an informer or decoy for the police". Maybe "he sang like a canary" means that "he ratted somebody out".
To "Sing like a canary" is probably an exact translation from Polish, which means to sing very well.
Actually, both Javid Jamae and Ollie might be right because the translated sentence has both meanings.
it also might have something to do with the use of canaries in coal mines. they can sense when the carbon monoxide was present, so their chirping would signal the miners to get to some fresh air.
Maggie kate, I'm afraid the truth is far more grim than you realize. Carbon monoxide is colorless and odorless, even to canaries. They are small, frail creatures compared to us humans, far more susceptible to its effects. It wasn't the canaries' chirping that warned the miners. It was the canaries' keeling over dead that warned them.
In reference to an informer: "loudly and at length." :-)