Salting a bird's tail
Superstition and idiom / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Salting a bird's tail is a legendary superstition of Europe and America, and an English language idiom. The superstition is that sprinkling salt on a bird's tail will render the bird temporarily unable to fly, enabling its capture.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b9/1922_baby_pouring_salt_on_a_bird%27s_tail.jpg/220px-1922_baby_pouring_salt_on_a_bird%27s_tail.jpg)
The nursery rhyme Simple Simon, which dates to at least the 17th century and possibly earlier, includes the verse
He went to catch a dicky bird,
And thought he could not fail,
Because he had a little salt,
To put upon its tail.[1][2]
The belief itself is documented to the 16th century, and may be older.[3] Found in European countries such as Sweden,[4] it also crossed the ocean to North America.[5] It is generally told to children,[6][7] and not commonly believed anymore by adults. In the verse in Simple Simon (above), the point is made even then only a simpleton would believe the legend.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Tammany_salting_the_Fenian_taiil.jpg/640px-Tammany_salting_the_Fenian_taiil.jpg)
Salting of a bird's tail has been used by analogy as an idiom for immobilization of persons since at least the 19th century, by writers such as Walter Scott,[3] Robert Burns,[2] Walter Lantz,[8] and John Phillips with his song, “No Salt On Her Tail” performed by The Mamas and The Papas.[9] Other examples include "Ye'll ne'er cast saut on his tail" (English: You'll never cast salt on his tail) is a Scottish proverb of unknown antiquity.[10]