Japanese DictionaryDefinition of 閑古鳥が鳴く
- (exp) to be in a slump (of a business); (business is) slow
ウチだって閑古鳥が鳴くようなカツカツの状態だから、バイトを雇う余裕なんてない。
We're in a slump, barely scraping by, so we certainly don't have the margin to take on a part-time worker.