I came across this poem titled "A hand in the bird" by Roald Dahl. What is the exact meaning of "bird" here?
A likely interpretation from Wiktionary is
(Britain, US, slang) A girl or woman, especially one considered sexually attractive.
Okay. So the meaning is "A hand inside the pretty woman"? O_O
But isn't this too graphic a title for a poem placed in a children poetry section? Maybe I'm not getting something.. there is nothing in the poem about the vicar actually getting his hand inside. That would have moved the poem from any children's section of any website, I guess.
Best Answer
I believe the meaning that you have suggested is the correct one, although perhaps the word "in" in the title needn't be taken literally, considering that the title was chosen as an adaptation of the proverb "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush".
According to Wikipedia: "Most of the stories contain slight sexual references. Due to slightly risqué material this book carries a warning that it is unsuitable for 'small people'."
A review by Booklist quoted here says: "Dahl's doggerel stew has the silly vulgarity beloved of younger teenagers whose jokes have left the bathroom (most of the time) for peeks behind the bedroom door and for sniggering fantasies about teachers, vicar's wives, and bare-bottomed dancing girls".