Frost: To give us a piece of their bills

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Marius Hancu - 25 Feb 2010 12:41 GMT

Hello:

"To give us a piece of their bills"
does it mean
"to sing for us?"

---
Four or five whippoorwills
Have come down from their native ledge
To the open country edge
To give us a piece of their bills.

Robert Frost, "A Nature Note," p. 364
---
Thanks.
Marius Hancu

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Peter Duncanson (BrE) - 25 Feb 2010 13:03 GMT

>Hello:
>
>"To give us a piece of their bills"
>does it mean
>"to sing for us?"

It sounds like that.

>---
>Four or five whippoorwills
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>Thanks.
>Marius Hancu

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Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

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CDB - 25 Feb 2010 13:43 GMT

> "To give us a piece of their bills"
> does it mean
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> Robert Frost, "A Nature Note," p. 364
> ---

The phrase is reminiscent of "to give us a piece of their minds", or
even "... the edge of their tongues", and may suggest a kind of noisy,
scolding chatter.

Frost goes on

Two in June were a pair -
You'd say sufficiently loud,
But this was a family crowd,
A full-fledged family affair.

All out of time pell-mell!
I wasn't in on the joke,
Unless it was coming to folk
To bid us a mock farewell.
...

You can hear the bird's call at the URL below, where the comment also
appears "Claps wings to defend territory". Maybe part of the noise is
the whippoorwill giving the poet the edge of his wing.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Whip-poor-will/sounds

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Marius Hancu - 25 Feb 2010 18:10 GMT

> > "To give us a piece of their bills"
> > does it mean
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> The phrase is reminiscent of "to give us a piece of their minds",

Right.

>or
> even "... the edge of their tongues", and may suggest a kind of noisy,
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
> appears "Claps wings to defend territory". Maybe part of the noise is
> the whippoorwill giving the poet the edge of his wing.

> http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Whip-poor-will/sounds

Wow, very penetrating.

Thank you both.
Marius Hancu

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Discussion Groups / English Usage / February 2010

Frost: To give us a piece of their bills