Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun idiomatic Something whose
sensitivity toadverse conditions makes it a useful earlyindicator of such conditions; something which warns of the coming of greater danger or trouble by adeterioration in its health or welfare.
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
An allusion to caged canaries mining workers would carry down into the tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as methane or carbon monoxide leaked into the mine-shaft, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners.
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