owl

enUK

bring owls to Athens

To do or undertake something redundant, pointless, or futile. It refers to the city of Athens in the time of Ancient Greece, where silver coins were minted with the image of an owl (which were abundant in the city). Thus, to bring either owls or silver to Athens would be a useless venture. The councilor's plans to improve the economy by increasing taxes simply would be bringing owls to Athens.See also: Athens, bring, owl

like an owl in an ivy bush

With a vacant stare, often due to drunkenness. Ivy bushes were thought to be enjoyed by both owls and Bacchus, the Roman god of wine. Whenever Rob drinks, he eventually looks like an owl in an ivy bush, gazing off into the distance at nothing.See also: bush, ivy, like, owl

night owl

A person who prefers to be awake late at night. In my younger days, I was quite a night owl and would often stay up until sunrise.See also: night, owl

send owls to Athens

To do or undertake something redundant, pointless, or futile. It refers to the city of Athens in the time of Ancient Greece, where silver coins were minted with the image of an owl (which were abundant in the city). Thus, to bring either owls or silver to Athens would be a useless venture. Creating a business to export olive oil to Italy is like sending owls to Athens! His plans to improve the economy by increasing taxes would simply be sending owls to Athens.See also: Athens, owl, send

owl prowl

A birdwatching session specifically focused on seeing owls, typically done at night. I took my two older kids on an owl prowl last weekend, and we all had a fantastic experience! I know the nature reserve hosts nighttime owl prowls throughout the summer and into early Fall.See also: owl, prowl

I wasn't brought up in the woods to be scared by owls.

Rur. I am not foolish or easily frightened. His threats don't scare me. I wasn't brought up in the woods to be scared by owls. Mary: You'll be sorry you ever crossed me. Jane: I wasn't brought up in the woods to be scared by owls.See also: brought, by, owl, scare, up, wood

night owl

Fig. someone who stays up at night; someone who works at night. My roommate is a night owl and usually reads until 5:00 A.M. A few night owls stayed at the café all night long.See also: night, owl

*wise as Solomon

and *wise as an owlvery wise. (*Also: as ~.) If you are in trouble, get Chris to advise you. He's as wise as Solomon. This is a difficult problem. You'd need to be as wise as an owl to be able to solve it.See also: wise

night owl

A person who habitually stays up late and is active at night, as in You can call her after midnight, for she's a night owl. This colloquial term, originally used in the late 1500s for an owl that is active at night, was transferred to nocturnal human beings in the mid-1800s. See also: night, owl

a night owl

If you call someone a night owl, you mean that they regularly stay up late at night. Night owls can even order a 3am steak at the 24-hour Horizons Court Hotel. Joe is a night owl whereas I'm more of an early bird.See also: night, owl

a ˈnight owl

(informal) somebody who feels more lively at night and usually goes to bed very late: She’s a night owl and has always done her best work after midnight.See also: night, owl

owl-prowl

n. a nighttime session of owl watching. (Bird watchers humor.) We went on an owl-prowl last night and spotted a spotted owl. It was a barn owl, but we spotted it.

owl

enUK

owl,

common name for nocturnal birds of prey found on all continents. Owls superficially resemble short-necked hawks, except that their eyes are directed forward and are surrounded by disks of radiating feathers. This peculiarity lends them an appearance of studious intelligence, and the owl has long been used as a symbol of wisdom. Although owls are able to see in daylight, their eyes are especially adapted to seeing in partial darkness, and most owls spend the day sleeping in caves, hollow trees, and other secluded places. Their plumage is so soft and fluffy that they are almost noiseless in flight. The order (Strigiformes) of owls is divided into two families; the barn owls (family Tytonidae), with heart-shaped faces, are one, and the typical owls (family Strigidae) compose the other. Owls feed on rodents, toads and frogs, insects, and small birds; like the hawks, they regurgitate pellets of indigestible matter. The elf and saw-whet owls of the SW United States and the pygmy owl of the Old World are only 6 in. (15 cm) long, while the eagle owl of Eurasia, the hawk owl of Australia, the great horned owl of North America (Bubo virginianus), and the snowy and great gray owls of the Arctic reach 2 ft (61 cm) with wingspreads of 4 to 5 ft (1.2 to 1.5 m). Many owls usurp the deserted nests of other birds, especially hawks; the burrowing owl of the New World lives in deserted prairie-dog burrows or digs its own. The barred owl has a familiar four-hoot call; the screech owl, misnamed for a similar European species, has a mournful descending cry. The long-eared owl is found in North America; the short-eared owl is ubiquitous. The tawny owl is common in England. Owls are classified in the phylum ChordataChordata
, phylum of animals having a notochord, or dorsal stiffening rod, as the chief internal skeletal support at some stage of their development. Most chordates are vertebrates (animals with backbones), but the phylum also includes some small marine invertebrate animals.
..... Click the link for more information. , subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Strigiformes, families Tytonidae and Strigidae.

Bibliography

See J. A. Burton, ed., Owls of the World (1974), D. Morris, Owl (2009), and M. Taylor, Owls (2012).

owl

Any of various nocturnal birds of prey, with hooked and feathered talons, large heads with short hooked beaks, and eyes set in a frontal facial plane.

Owl

(religion, spiritualism, and occult)

The Greeks looked upon the owl as a sacred symbol of wisdom. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, was always accompanied by an owl. Many old Greek vases are decorated with owls, some of which have breasts and even vulvas. In Rome, however, the hooting of owls or the sight of one was said to presage a death, and it was considered bad luck to dream of an owl.

Athena, Anath, Blodeuwedd, Lilith, Mari, and Minerva are associated with owls. From the Neolithic Age through to the Early Bronze Age, a prominent image in art is the goddess in the form of an owl. The Latin for owl is strix, from which comes the Italian strega, meaning "witch."

Owls were frequently depicted, during the persecutions, as companions and servants of witches. Some owls were believed to transform into succubae. The ability of an owl to turn its head almost a full 360 degrees led to Christian belief that it was a servant of the devil.

Despite a lot of negative beliefs, the owl has also been credited with profound wisdom, oracular powers, and the ability to avert evil. De Givry suggests that the owl, along with the cat and the toad, is the inseparable companion of every witch.

Gimbutas, Marija: The Language of the Goddess. Harper & Row, 1989. Walker, Barbara G.: The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. HarperSanFrancisco, 1988.

What does it mean when you dream about an owl?

A symbol of wisdom and virtue, as a night bird the owl is also a natural symbol of the unconscious. Solemn and wide-eyed, the owl may bear a message the dreamer needs to heed.

owl

[au̇l] (vertebrate zoology) Any of a number of diurnal and nocturnal birds of prey composing the order Strigiformes; characterized by a large head, more or less forward-directed large eyes, a short hooked bill, and strong talons.

owl

nocturnal bird; Night embodied. [Art: Hall, 231]See: Night

owl

associated with Athena, goddess of wisdom. [Gk. Myth.: Hall, 231]See: Wisdom

owl

1. any nocturnal bird of prey of the order Strigiformes, having large front-facing eyes, a small hooked bill, soft feathers, and a short neck 2. any of various breeds of owl-like fancy domestic pigeon (esp the African owl, Chinese owl, and English owl)

OWL

(company)Office Workstations Limited.

OWL

(language)Object Windows Language.

Owl

(3)The original name of Trellis.

OWL

(1) (Web Ontology Language) A comprehensive language that is used to define the vocabulary in an RDF data model. A superset of the RDFS language, every OWL document is an RDF document, but OWL Lite and OWL DL (OWL Description Logistics) are subsets (see RDFS).

Why Is This OWL Instead of WOL?
Because OWL sounds catchier and is also reminiscent of William A. Martin's One World Language project of the 1970s. See RDF, SPARQL and Semantic Web.

(2) (ObjectWindows Library) A class library of Windows objects from Borland that serves as an application framework for developing Windows applications in C++. It is the Borland counterpart of the Microsoft Foundation Class Library (MFC).

Owl

(dreams)It is another symbol for the unconscious. It usually represents wisdom and virtue, and your unconscious may be giving you important messages, so pay attention to the details in the dream. In the American Indian tradition, the owl is considered to be the eagle of the night. Dreaming about owls is a powerful dream that may indicate that changes are on the way. Superstition-based dream interpretations suggest that dreaming about an owl is a negative omen, which indicates a reversal in good fortune. An owl in the house predicts family arguments and chasing it away might cause things to work out for the best.

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bring owls to Athens

like an owl in an ivy bush

night owl

send owls to Athens

owl prowl

I wasn't brought up in the woods to be scared by owls.

night owl

*wise as Solomon

night owl

a night owl

a ˈnight owl

owl-prowl

owl

owl,

Bibliography

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Owl

What does it mean when you dream about an owl?

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OWL

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Synonyms for owl

noun nocturnal bird of prey with hawk-like beak and claws and large head with front-facing eyes

Synonyms

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