the old woman is plucking her goose

Meanings:

• 1.

  generalneutralliteral
  • Removing feathers from a goose in preparation for cooking; the literal act of plucking a bird.

• 2.

  regionalchiefly rural or dialectalinformalcolloquialdialectal
  • Used figuratively to indicate that someone is making preparations or attending to necessary tasks, especially in advance of an expected event.
  • Used figuratively to suggest that someone is occupied with their own affairs or is taking care of routine domestic matters.