---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She 's no chicken; she 's on the wrong…"
description: "\"She 's no chicken; she 's on the wrong side of thirty, if she be a day.\" — Jonathan Swift"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/jonathan-swift-433_chickens_she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side_935526.jpg"
---

#  She 's no chicken; she 's on the wrong side of thirty, if…

![“She 's no chicken; she 's on the wrong side of thirty, if she be a day.” quote by Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/jonathan-swift-433_chickens_she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side_935526.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/jonathan-swift-433_chickens_she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side_935526.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/jonathan-swift-433_chickens_she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side_935526.jpg)

> “She 's no chicken; she 's on the wrong side of thirty, if she be a day.”

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

She is past her youthful prime and now faces the challenges of middle age.

**In simple terms:** She’s older and no longer youthful.

Key Takeaway

Accept aging and adapt to new life stages.

Themes

aging midlife selfperception

Mood

reflective bittersweet

Type

cautionary observational

When to use this quote

- career planning
- health decisions
- relationship dynamics
- personal growth

Key Concepts

Satire social commentary

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you view aging?
- What strengths come with experience?

A Different Perspective

Society often values youth, making aging feel negative.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Chicken Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chicken-wrong-1557307/) [Chickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chickens/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty/) [Thirty Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty-day-1557308/) [Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong/) [Wrong Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wrong-thirty-1557306/)

## Related quotes

> [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/)

[Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/)

> [The chickens have come home to roast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ace/the-chickens-have-come-home-to-roast/)

[Jane Ace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ace/)

> [I'm such a fitness freak that I eat so plain, it's gross. I have oatmeal in the morning and then I have chicken breasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-such-a-fitness-freak-that-i-eat-so-plain-it-s-gross-i-have/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [You want a drumstick? Like a ice cream cone or a chicken wing!?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-joe-armstrong/you-want-a-drumstick-like-a-ice-cream-cone-or-a-chicken-wing/)

[Billie Joe Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-joe-armstrong/)

> [Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It's the difference between using a feather and using a chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/just-erotic-nothing-kinky-it-s-the-difference-between-using-a-feather/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [To this day I over prepare. I draw storyboards for every scene - chicken scratches so crude that they amuse and horrify the crew.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/to-this-day-i-over-prepare-i-draw-storyboards-for-every-scene-chicken/)

[Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/)

> [I eat a lot of chicken with salad or salmon with salad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ellison/i-eat-a-lot-of-chicken-with-salad-or-salmon-with-salad/)

[Jennifer Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ellison/)

> [In a way that somebody else converts to Judaism or becomes a Hare Krishna, I belong to the church of fried chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-lakshmi/in-a-way-that-somebody-else-converts-to-judaism-or-becomes-a-hare/)

[Padma Lakshmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padma-lakshmi/)

> [call it chicken salad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/call-it-chicken-salad/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [I joined PETA for minks and dogs. I need my beef, my chicken, my seafood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waka-flocka-flame/i-joined-peta-for-minks-and-dogs-i-need-my-beef-my-chicken-my-seafood/)

[Waka Flocka Flame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waka-flocka-flame/)

> [My dad was proud of himself when he farted. He sounds like he's strangling a chicken when he farts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barron/my-dad-was-proud-of-himself-when-he-farted-he-sounds-like-he-s/)

[Carl Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barron/)

> [One of the mistakes I made was thinking chickens and penguins could sing, just like all the other animals in the 'Muppets.' But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-mckenzie/one-of-the-mistakes-i-made-was-thinking-chickens-and-penguins-could/)

[Bret McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-mckenzie/)

> [I've never even been into those supplements or any of that. I don't even drink energy shakes. I'm not into that kind of stuff.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/i-ve-never-even-been-into-those-supplements-or-any-of-that-i-don-t/)

[Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/)

> [I don't think I've ever bench-pressed anything in my life. Until about two years ago I swam a mile almost every day. Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-antosca/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-bench-pressed-anything-in-my-life-until-about/)

[Nick Antosca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-antosca/)

> [Dinner Special - Turkey $2.35; Chicken or Beef $2.25; Children $2.00](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/dinner-special-turkey-2-35-chicken-or-beef-2-25-children-2-00/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

## More by Jonathan Swift

> [Time is painted with a lock before, and bald behind, signifying thereby that we must take time by the forelock; for, when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/time-is-painted-with-a-lock-before-and-bald-behind-signifying-thereby/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [“He said, he knew no reason why those who entertain opinions prejudicial to the public should be obliged to change, or should not be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/he-said-he-knew-no-reason-why-those-who-entertain-opinions/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [I with borrow'd silver shine, What you see is none of mine. First I show you but a quarter, Like the bow that guards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-with-borrow-d-silver-shine-what-you-see-is-none-of-mine-first-i/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [A favor is half granted, when graciously refused.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-favor-is-half-granted-when-graciously-refused/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [I never wonder to see men wicked, but I often wonder to see them not ashamed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-never-wonder-to-see-men-wicked-but-i-often-wonder-to-see-them-not/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [The best Maxim I know in this life is, to drink your Coffee when you can, and when you cannot, to be easy without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/the-best-maxim-i-know-in-this-life-is-to-drink-your-coffee-when-you/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [A lie is an excuse guarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-lie-is-an-excuse-guarded/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [A forward critic often dupes us With sham quotations peri hupsos, And if we have not read Longinus, Will magisterially outshine us. Then, lest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/a-forward-critic-often-dupes-us-with-sham-quotations-peri-hupsos-and/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [May you live every day of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/may-you-live-every-day-of-your-life/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [Ale is meat, drink and cloth; it will make a cat speak and a wise man dumb.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/ale-is-meat-drink-and-cloth-it-will-make-a-cat-speak-and-a-wise-man/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [All fits of pleasure are balanced by an equal degree of pain or languor; it is like spending this year part of the next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/all-fits-of-pleasure-are-balanced-by-an-equal-degree-of-pain-or/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [Satire is a sort of glass wherein beholders do generally discover everybody’s face but their own; which is the chief reason for that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/satire-is-a-sort-of-glass-wherein-beholders-do-generally-discover/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [“When a great genius appears in the world you may know him by this sign; that the dunces are all in confederacy against him."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/when-a-great-genius-appears-in-the-world-you-may-know-him-by-this/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities, and all my love is toward individuals: for instance, I hate the tribe of lawyers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/i-have-ever-hated-all-nations-professions-and-communities-and-all-my/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

> [So endless and exorbitant are the desires of men that they will grasp at all, and can form no scheme of perfect happiness with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/so-endless-and-exorbitant-are-the-desires-of-men-that-they-will-grasp/)

[Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

[Explore all 535 Jonathan Swift quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/)

## More Chickens quotes

> [Creativity is like chasing chickens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-niemann/creativity-is-like-chasing-chickens/)

[Christoph Niemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-niemann/)

> [I don't think I've ever bench-pressed anything in my life. Until about two years ago I swam a mile almost every day. Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-antosca/i-don-t-think-i-ve-ever-bench-pressed-anything-in-my-life-until-about/)

[Nick Antosca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-antosca/)

> [I've never even been into those supplements or any of that. I don't even drink energy shakes. I'm not into that kind of stuff.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-pierce/i-ve-never-even-been-into-those-supplements-or-any-of-that-i-don-t/)

[Paul Pierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-pierce/)

> [One of the mistakes I made was thinking chickens and penguins could sing, just like all the other animals in the 'Muppets.' But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-mckenzie/one-of-the-mistakes-i-made-was-thinking-chickens-and-penguins-could/)

[Bret McKenzie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-mckenzie/)

> [My dad was proud of himself when he farted. He sounds like he's strangling a chicken when he farts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-barron/my-dad-was-proud-of-himself-when-he-farted-he-sounds-like-he-s/)

[Carl Barron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-barron/)

> [I joined PETA for minks and dogs. I need my beef, my chicken, my seafood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waka-flocka-flame/i-joined-peta-for-minks-and-dogs-i-need-my-beef-my-chicken-my-seafood/)

[Waka Flocka Flame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waka-flocka-flame/)

> [call it chicken salad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/call-it-chicken-salad/)

[Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/)

> [In a way that somebody else converts to Judaism or becomes a Hare Krishna, I belong to the church of fried chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/padma-lakshmi/in-a-way-that-somebody-else-converts-to-judaism-or-becomes-a-hare/)

[Padma Lakshmi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/padma-lakshmi/)

> [I eat a lot of chicken with salad or salmon with salad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-ellison/i-eat-a-lot-of-chicken-with-salad-or-salmon-with-salad/)

[Jennifer Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-ellison/)

> [To this day I over prepare. I draw storyboards for every scene - chicken scratches so crude that they amuse and horrify the crew.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-stoltz/to-this-day-i-over-prepare-i-draw-storyboards-for-every-scene-chicken/)

[Eric Stoltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-stoltz/)

> [Just erotic. Nothing kinky. It's the difference between using a feather and using a chicken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/just-erotic-nothing-kinky-it-s-the-difference-between-using-a-feather/)

[Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/)

> [You want a drumstick? Like a ice cream cone or a chicken wing!?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-joe-armstrong/you-want-a-drumstick-like-a-ice-cream-cone-or-a-chicken-wing/)

[Billie Joe Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-joe-armstrong/)

> [I'm such a fitness freak that I eat so plain, it's gross. I have oatmeal in the morning and then I have chicken breasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-such-a-fitness-freak-that-i-eat-so-plain-it-s-gross-i-have/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The chickens have come home to roast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-ace/the-chickens-have-come-home-to-roast/)

[Jane Ace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-ace/)

> [Dinner Special - Turkey $2.35; Chicken or Beef $2.25; Children $2.00](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/dinner-special-turkey-2-35-chicken-or-beef-2-25-children-2-00/)

[Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/)

[Browse all 1,079 Chickens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chickens/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "She 's no chicken; she 's on the wrong side of thirty, if she be a day.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Jonathan Swift"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side-of-thirty-if-she-be-a-day/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Chickens"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side-of-thirty-if-she-be-a-day/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/jonathan-swift-433_chickens_she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side_935526.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/jonathan-swift-433_chickens_she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side_935526.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad3/jonathan-swift-433_chickens_she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side_935526.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“She 's no chicken; she 's on the wrong side of thirty, if she be a day.” — Jonathan Swift",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Jonathan Swift",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "She 's no chicken; she 's...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side-of-thirty-if-she-be-a-day/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/she-s-no-chicken-she-s-on-the-wrong-side-of-thirty-if-she-be-a-day/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```