chicken feed —(coll.) anything of little importance, especially a trifling sum of money:
- That meant only chicken feed for the proprietary companies and big producers.
Cf.: chicken feeder—(sl.) a poor tipper:
- The only people I waited on in the restaurant were chicken feeders.
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase bird food—(sl.) health food such as nuts, seeds, etc. (also: rabbit food):
- “Instead of a beef hamburger, try a garden-burger. It’s got nuts and oats and is healthier for you.” “I don’t like bird food.”
feed the chicken —(sl.) said of a gesture of greeting in which one person slaps an upraised palm against that of another person:
- “Hey, great job, feed the chicken!” “Thanks.”
Note: The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase feed the chicks—(RAF) carry out air-to-air refueling, by a large tanker aircraft, of the smaller, fighter aircraft.