Meanings
An allusion to caged canaries (birds) that miners would carry down into the mine tunnels with them. If dangerous gases such as carbon monoxide collected in the mine, the gases would kill the canary before killing the miners, thus providing a warning to exit the tunnels immediately.
How to pronounce "canary in a coal mine":
AU
UK
Something whose sensitivity to adverse conditions makes it a useful early indicator of such conditions; something which warns of the coming of greater danger or trouble by a deterioration in its health or welfare.
Example Sentences
1
The polar ice caps melting is the canary in a coal mine for climate change.
2
The drop in honeybee populations is a canary in a coal mine for the health of our ecosystems.
3
The sudden increase in earthquakes could be a canary in a coal mine for a major tectonic shift.
4
The decline in newspaper readership is a canary in a coal mine for the future of print media.
5
The rise in obesity rates among children is a canary in a coal mine for public health concerns.
