One of Bierma's writers asked if "naked as a jaybird" is related to "naked as a jailbird." Bierma said the idea is compelling because prisoners are stripped of everything they own. However, he said the British used the phrase "naked as a robin" before Americans began to say, "naked as a jaybird." Therefore, he says, our phrase must be based on the English phrase.

He says it most likely derives from newly hatched robins or jaybirds looking naked (without feathers or down yet). He admits it's not documented; his source was www.takeourword.com. While it sounds plausible to Bierma, it really doesn't to me. Many newborn animals don't have fur, and the phrase doesn't say "naked as a newborn jaybird." Any other thoughts?

I have never heard any phrase that starts "As naked as..." and have certainly never heard "naked as a robin". I have heard "naked as nature intended" used by naturists but not otherwise.

If I wanted to use a euphemism for nakedness I might say, "In her birthday suit".

I've heard "naked as a jaybird" but I have no idea of the origin.

I've heard "naked as a jaybird", as well. It is possible that the "jailbird" version is an eggcorn, although it doesn't appear in the Eggcorn Database. I've never heard "naked as a robin". The TOWFI article cited is at http://www.takeourword.com/Issue087.html and mentions that it was used in the 19th century. Presumably it has now died out. Answers.com also discusses the phrase using the same reference to the UK robin, as does The Word Detective.

The Bierma article is here.

Arnie, I was thinking it was possibly an eggcorn, too. There were some Google hits for it, but not too many.

I am surprised, though, that those of you in England hadn't heard of "naked as a robin" because of the TOWFI article. Thanks for posting that article, Arnie. I see that they mentioned jaywalking, too, which we have discussed here. Hic's last question asked about the etymology of jaywalk, and the TOWFI takes a stab at that.

I still think there is more to the "naked as a robin/jaybird" than the explanation that they don't have feathers or down when they are born. As I said earlier, that is true of most birds and many mammals, like baby mice.

Accordgin to OED, at least some Brits used to say "naked as a robin," and the USns later began saying "naked as jaybird."

But that's no showing that the latter came from the former, "robin". I find no evidence of the "robin" phrase ever being used in the US.

OED dates the "jaybird" phrase to 1931.¹ But it goes back much further, at least as far as 1899.² And an early citation is clearly thinking of birds newly-hatched.³

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¹Amer. Mercury: Vance .. sternly put them through the manual of drill, with the unfortunate private as naked as a jaybird and unable even to clothe himself with a sweet-gum leaf.
²Galveston Daily News, Apr. 19, 1899 p.6 c.3: The woman took the boy down to Little Sandy Bridge, stripped him as naked as a jaybird without feathers ..., and turned him loose.
³Lincoln (Neb.) Daily News, Aug. 5, 1916, p.7 c.5, quoting Topeka Journal: The umpire wouldn't let Lober go to bat without any clothes on. and Ty was as naked as a newly born Jaybird when his turn came. Thinking that the game was over, he had gone to the club house and made a dash to the shower while the rest of the players were driving in runs.

Well, that "newly born Jaybird" (why capitalized?) comment seems to support Bierma's reasoning. Still, I think the people who used it knew nothing of biology!

Wordnerd's final cite seems to offer good proof that the phrase was originally "naked as a newly born jaybird", which makes more sense. Perhaps the jay was picked as it is a common bird in the US, in a similar way to the robin is over here. Leaving aside the fact that birds are hatched, not born, that is.

The "naked as a jaybird without feathers" quote is peculiar. That's rather like saying "naked as a man without clothes".

We've got a family of Steller's jays http://birdweb.org/birdweb/bird_details.aspx?id=310 nesting on our back porch. The hatchlings were indeed naked. Now they're getting feathers and being quite rambunctious. This contributes nothing to the thread, but it's sure fun to watch the progress of our soon-to-be fine feathered friends!

Ah, but look at these May 13th baby cardinals; here is a baby mouse (interestingly, a baby mouse is called a kitten or a pinky); newborn squirrel (second one down); newborn baby owl. Need I go on? I just don't think someone would pick "jaybird" out of all those examples. It will never make sense to me, even if someone calls it a "newly born jaybird."

Newborn human babies are born naked, as well. They don't appear complete with pink or blue bootees, shawl and woolly hat.

Yes, of course. Naked as a newborn baby would work, too. Maybe that's what the term should be because it includes a lot of newborn babies. However, there are some newborn baby animals that are born with fur, so maybe not.

Why a jaybird in particular? Well "naked" and "jaybird" have similar vowel sounds and stresses, so it has that going for it. Also, I have come across a meaning of "jay" as being a country bumpkin. Consider "jaywalking" where a rube tries to cross a city street. Since kids running around naked is something you might see more often in the country, naked as a jaybird gives it more of an unsophisticated country flavor.

Good point, Myth. In 2004 we did have a discussion here about the etymology of "jaywalking," and that was exactly what we had concluded.