the.com/canary
a tiny yellow alarm system that paid for its keen lungs with its life
means A small, often bright-yellow finch kept as a songbird, famously once carried into mines to detect dangerous gases.
from Named for the Canary Islands, the bird's native home — and here's the twist: the islands weren't named for the bird. They come from the Latin Canariae Insulae, 'islands of dogs' (canis, dog), reportedly for the large dogs found there. So the cheerful little songbird is, by way of its homeland, etymologically a dog.
- coal mines
- Carried underground to detect deadly gases until 1986
- wild color
- Wild canaries are mostly drab green, not yellow
- named after
- Bird named for islands, islands named for dogs
- male singers
- Females rarely sing; males do the showing off
- warrant canary
- Tech firms use the phrase for secret surveillance alerts
canary islands — spanish archipelago off northwest africa, 7 main islands with 2.2 million residents
canary wharf — major financial district in london's docklands, opened 1991 with one canada square
roller canary — song canary breed developed in 17th century germany, prized for melodious rolling song