Meanings
- idiomaticnot comparableNot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; also, not having the advantages of the various options.
The trouble, Kenneth, is in you. You are neither fish nor fowl. You are a country lout—fit only to associate with pigs.
1934, Lew Levenson, chapter V, in Butterfly Man, New York, N.Y.: Castle Books, →OCLC, page 535 more examples
Besides, I know I should hate being there without you; I'm a great old thing, as Jasper says, neither fish nor fowl, you know, not come out, and not a little girl in the schoolroom, and it would be very horrid going to a grand place like that on one's own account.
1885, Charlotte M[ary] Yonge, “Mysie and Dolores”, in The Two Sides of the Shield, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 347My hump was due, I made no doubt, first, to my precarious position in the wilderness, but more than that to my anomalous social position, for it seemed to me now that I was neither fish nor fowl. I was no longer a gentleman's man—the familiar boundaries of that office had been swept away; on the other hand, I was most emphatically not the gentleman I had set myself up to be, and I was weary of the pretence.
1915, Harry Leon Wilson, chapter 11, in Ruggles of Red Gap, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC, page 188"To tell you the truth," he confided, "I am a little tired of my job. Neither fish nor fowl, don't you know. I took an observation course at Scotland Yard, but I suppose I am too slow-witted for what they call secret-service work over here."
1919, E[dward] Phillips Oppenheim, chapter VII, in The Box with Broken Seals, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland & Stewart, →OCLC, page 68Ms. [Etta] James, who has been a blues, rhythm-and-blues, funk and soul singer, said she no longer had to worry about being "neither fish nor fowl." "I know what I am now," she declared. "I'm rock-and-roll."
1993 January 14, Jon Pareles, “Arts: Playing in reunion, Cream is the finale of rock ceremonies”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Dec 2022, section C, page 15"Docudrama" is by its nature a confusing genre—neither fish nor fowl, and thus lacking either taste or substance. (Maybe tofu is a better analogy.)
2008 December 30, Bob Sommer, “The Education of David Frost”, in CounterPunch, archived from the original on 07 Dec 2022Synonyms: neither fish, flesh, nor fowl, neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring, neither fish nor flesh, neither fish nor flesh, nor good red herring
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveNot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; also, not having the advantages of the various options.
Origin
Possibly a variant of neither fish, flesh, nor fowl, itself a variant of neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring which is attested from the 16th century. According to Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1895), the latter term referred to three types of food generally consumed by the different classes in society: fish by the clergy, flesh by the common people, and red herring by the poor. Thus if something was neither fish, flesh, nor red herring, it was good for no one.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic لا السمك ولا الطيور
- لا السمك ولا الطيورnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Bulgarian ни рак, ни риба
- ни рак, ни риба (ni rak, ni riba)not easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Catalan ni carn ni peix, no ésser ni carn ni peix
- ni carn ni peixnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
- no ésser ni carn ni peixnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Chinese Mandarin 不倫不類 /不伦不类, 非驢非馬 /非驴非马
- 不倫不類 /不伦不类 (bùlúnbùlèi)not easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
- 非驢非馬 /非驴非马 (fēilǘfēimǎ)not easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
- 童牛角馬 /童牛角马 (tóng niú jué mǎ)not easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Czech ani ryba ani rak
- ani ryba ani raknot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Danish hverken fugl eller fisk
- hverken fugl eller fisknot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Dutch vlees noch vis, mossel noch vis
- vlees noch visnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
- mossel noch visnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Finnish ei lintu eikä kala, outolintu
- ei lintu eikä kalanot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
- outolintunot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
French mi-figue mi-raisin, ni chair ni poisson
- mi-figue mi-raisinnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
- ni chair ni poissonnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
German weder Fisch noch Fleisch
- weder Fisch noch Fleischnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Hebrew לא בשר ולא חלב
- לא בשר ולא חלבnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Icelandic hvorki fugl né fiskur, viðrinislegur
- hvorki fugl né fiskurnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
- viðrinislegurnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Irish níl sé ina ghruth ná ina mheadhg
- níl sé ina ghruth ná ina mheadhgnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Italian né carne né pesce
- né carne né pescenot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Japanese 海の物とも山の物ともつかない
- 海の物とも山の物ともつかないnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Latin homō nūllīus colōris
- homō nūllīus colōrisnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Norwegian Bokmål hverken fugl eller fisk
- hverken fugl eller fisknot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Polish ni pies, ni wydra
- ni pies, ni wydranot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Portuguese nem carne nem peixe
- nem carne nem peixenot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Romanian nici cal nici măgar
- nici cal nici măgarnot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Slovak ani ryba, ani rak
- ani ryba, ani raknot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Spanish ni chicha ni limonada, ni de aquí ni de allá
- ni chicha ni limonadanot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
- ni de aquí ni de allánot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Swedish varken fågel eller fisk
- varken fågel eller fisknot easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; not having the advantages of the various options
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with neither fish nor fowl
Cite this entry
neither fish nor fowl. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neither%20fish%20nor%20fowl
“neither fish nor fowl.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neither%20fish%20nor%20fowl. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “neither fish nor fowl,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neither%20fish%20nor%20fowl.
Source: neither fish nor fowl on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.