sparrow

plural sparrows

1. The house sparrow, Passer domesticus; a small bird with a short bill, and brown, white and gray feathers.

   In a poem by Sappho, Aphrodite is represented as riding in a car drawn by sparrows.

   1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 87

   1 more example

   Man progresses generally, not both legs at once like a sparrow, but by putting one leg forward first, and then the other.

   1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 192

   Synonyms: spadger, spoggy, spuggy

2. A member of the family Passeridae, comprising small Old World songbirds.
3. A member of the family Passerellidae (or Emberizidae, under classification systems that subsume the New World sparrows under Emberizidae), comprising small New World songbirds.
4. Generically, any small, nondescript bird.
5. LondonUKA quick-witted, lively person.

   cockney sparrow

   2 more examples

   I take it there 's scarcely a happier fellow alive than your honest town-bred smoke-dried cockney sparrow.

   1878, Charles Henry Ross, Ally Sloper's guide to the Paris exhibition, page 54

   Professional cockney sparrow Martine has acted since childhood.

   2005, Drama Faces: Martine McCutcheon, BBC

1. A surname.