(US, military) an inexperienced, untrained, or clumsy soldier, esp one employed on menial duties
Word Origin and History for yardbird
n.
"convict," 1956, from yard (n.1) + bird (n.1), from the notion of prison yards; earlier it meant "basic trainee" (World War II armed forces slang).
Slang definitions & phrases for yardbird
yardbird
noun
A convict (1956+)
A recruit; a asi trainee (WWII armed forces)
A soldier who because of ineptitude or misdemeanor is confined to a certain area, and often ordered to keep it clean and neat (WWII armed forces)
[fr the fact that convicts exercise in the yard of the prison, and that neophyte soldiers are confined to the grounds of the training post during their first weeks; the basic metaphor is probably based on the behavior of urban pigeons]