neither fish nor fowl

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.[1] 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.[2]

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌnaɪðə ˈfɪʃ nɔː ˈfaʊl/, /ˌniː-/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌnaɪðɚ ˈfɪʃ nɔɹ ˈfaʊl/, /ˌni-/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊl
• Hyphenation: neith‧er fish nor fowl

neither fish nor fowl (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) Not easily categorized; not rightly belonging or fitting well in a given group or situation; also, not having the advantages of the various options.

   Synonyms: neither fish, flesh, nor fowl; neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring; neither fish nor flesh; neither fish nor flesh, nor good red herring

   • 1885, Charlotte M[ary] Yonge, “Mysie and Dolores”, in The Two Sides of the Shield, London: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 347:

     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.

   • 1915, Harry Leon Wilson, chapter 11, in Ruggles of Red Gap, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC, page 188:

     My 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.

   • 1919, E[dward] Phillips Oppenheim, chapter VII, in The Box with Broken Seals, Toronto, Ont.: McClelland & Stewart, →OCLC, page 68:

     "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."

   • 1934, Lew Levenson, chapter V, in Butterfly Man, New York, N.Y.: Castle Books, →OCLC, page 53:

     The trouble, Kenneth, is in you. You are neither fish nor fowl. You are a country lout—fit only to associate with pigs.

   • 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 2022-12-27, section C, page 15:

     Ms. [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."

   • 2008 December 30, Bob Sommer, “The Education of David Frost”, in CounterPunch‎, archived from the original on 2022-12-07:

     "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.)

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the term was primarily used literally.[3]

• neither here nor there

• “neither fish nor fowl, phrase”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “neither fish nor fowl”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.