Hoarse as a crow 🗣️🪨🐦‍⬛

Meaning

To have a very rough, raspy, or croaky voice, often due to a sore throat, shouting, or illness.

Origin

The image of a crow, with its distinctive, guttural "caw," has long been a part of human folklore and observation. Unlike the melodic songs of many other birds, the crow's call is famously harsh, unyielding, and often repetitive—a sound that could easily be described as raw or raspy. This vivid auditory association naturally lent itself to describing a human voice that had lost its clarity and become rough or strained. The phrase likely emerged from the simple, everyday experience of hearing a crow and comparing its sound to the feeling of a sore or overworked throat, cementing the crow's unmistakable voice as the quintessential metaphor for human hoarseness.

Hoarse as a crow represented with emoji🗣️🪨🐦‍⬛

This playful arrangement of a talking head, a stone, and a crow-like bird functions as a whimsical riddle, inviting us to consider the sonic qualities of a voice so rough it might be mistaken for something quite stony or the caw of a bird. It's not just the visual, but the resonant implication of sound that teaches the viewer to listen with their eyes, drawing a parallel between the visual cues and an auditory experience.

Examples

• After hours of cheering at the concert, Sarah found herself hoarse as a crow the next morning.
• The old fisherman, notorious for his booming stories, was hoarse as a crow after battling a severe cold all week.
• The old owl complained that his hoot was hoarse as a crow, and he blamed the moon for stealing his voice.
• When the pirate parrot tried to shout 'Ahoy!' it sounded hoarse as a crow, making the crew giggle.