Meanings
- pluralplural of canary in the coal mine
Like the absent songbirds that Carson believed to be the hallmark of wider degradation of the environment, American children are the canaries in the coal mine, or the early messengers alerting us that our way of life is toxic and seriously damaging to our health.
2010, Beth Lambert, Victoria Kobliner, A Compromised Generation: The Epidemic of Chronic Illness in America's Children, Sentient Publications, →ISBN, page 1422 more examples
For example, coral reefs are highly sensitive and vulnerable to hot temperatures, because hot temperatures cause the corals to bleach and eventually die; indeed, Cornell University marine ecologist, Drew Harvell, remarked that "In a way, corals are like the canaries in the coal mine for global warming" (Ten-Bruggencate, 2003).
2003, James Mak, Tourism and the Economy: Understanding the Economics of Tourism, University of Hawai'i Press, published 2004, →ISBN, page 231Runners who are less sensitive than I, or more macho, or simply better able to tolerate pain, might have laughed at my tiny blisters, but the fact is that these little problems are indicators of bigger problems with our technique. They are canaries in the coal mine — signs of impending back pain, knee pain, foot pain, and other big issues destined to come back to haunt you in the long run.
2011, "Barefoot" Ken Bob Saxton & Roy M. Wallack, Barefoot Running Step by Step, Fair Winds Press (2011), page 101
Cite this entry
canaries in the coal mine. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/canaries%20in%20the%20coal%20mine
“canaries in the coal mine.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/canaries%20in%20the%20coal%20mine. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “canaries in the coal mine,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/canaries%20in%20the%20coal%20mine.
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