gallows bird

== English == === Alternative forms === gallows-bird, gallowsbird === Etymology === From gallows +‎ bird. Compare German construction Galgenvogel (literally “gallows-fowl" or "gallows-bird”), and French gibier de potence, as well as similar English jailbird. === Noun === gallows bird (plural gallows birds) (archaic) A person who deserves, or is likely, to be hanged. Synonyms: hangdog, wag-halter; see also Thesaurus:gallows bird ==== Related terms ==== jailbird ==== Translations ==== === References === gallows-bird, Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present: Fla to Hyps, William Ernest Henley, p. 106 gallows-bird, Cassell’s dictionary of slang, Jonathon Green, p. 563