neither fish nor fowl
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Of indefinite character and difficult to identify.
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
I disagree with my hon. Friend about the agencies being neither fish nor fowl nor good red herring.
Creatures thrown up by the sea, stalled on the sands, undecided, indecisive, neither hot nor cold, neither fish nor fowl.
British National Corpus sentence via the MAGPIE corpus (CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Figurative class: Metaphor (PIE-English corpus, CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-31).
Common questions
What does “neither fish nor fowl” mean?
Of indefinite character and difficult to identify.
Is “neither fish nor fowl” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.