English

Alternative forms

• like a chicken with its head off
• like a chicken with no head
• like a headless chicken

Adverb

like a chicken with its head cut off

1. (idiomatic) In a frantic, disorganized manner.
   • c. 1900, Jack London, "To Build a Fire":

     His idea of it was that he had been making a fool of himself, running around like a chicken with its head cut off—such was the simile that occurred to him.

   • 1911, Zane Grey, The Young Pitcher, ch. 9:

     Ken played or essayed to play right field for a while, but he ran around like a chicken with its head off.

   • 1920, Harold MacGrath, The Drums Of Jeopardy, ch. 27:

     I've been running round like a chicken with its head cut off.

   • 1962, "Nation: New Fail-Safe," Time, 28 Dec.:

     Says one Pentagon arms-control expert: "Our setup was actually designed to act in time of general war like a chicken with its head cut off. The brain could be destroyed and the nervous system severed. Then the military muscles would just jerk in uncontrolled spasms."

   • 2003, Linda Lael Miller, Shotgun Bride, ISBN 9780743422741, p. 121:

     Rushing around like a chicken with its head cut off would serve no purpose.

Usage notes

• Often preceded by the verb run around.

Translations

See also

• like a chicken with the pip
• run around like a chicken with its head cut off