miner's canary

See also: miners' canary

English
Depiction of a miner with a caged canary.

Alternative forms

Noun

miner's canary (plural miners' canaries or miner's canaries)

  1. A caged bird kept caged in mines because its demise provided a warning of dangerous levels of toxic gases.
  2. (idiomatic) Any thing, especially an organism, whose demise or distress provides an early warning of danger.
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