A maggot-pie is an old English word for a magpie, the black-and-white bird known for its loud call and habit of collecting shiny objects. It has nothing to do with maggots or pastry. The term was common in the 16th and 17th centuries and shows up most famously in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.
Where the Name Comes From
The word “maggot-pie” is built from two separate pieces, both referring to the same bird. “Pie” was the English word for a magpie long before it ever meant a pastry dish, borrowed from the Latin name for the bird, pica. The “maggot” part comes from an old nickname for the name Margaret. In French, that nickname became “margot,” which is still the modern French word for magpie. So “maggot-pie” essentially means “Maggie the bird,” a folksy, personified name for the magpie.
During the 16th century, several variations of the name circulated in English: maggot-the-pie, maggoty-pie, and maw-pie. Over time, the name simplified. “Maggot” shortened to “mag,” “pie” stuck around, and the two fused into the single word we use today: magpie.
There’s also a competing theory about the “maggot” portion. The French word “magot” means a hoard of secreted money, and some scholars connect this to the magpie’s well-known tendency to steal and hide objects. Others suggest the name simply refers to one of the bird’s favorite foods: actual maggots and grubs. The Margaret explanation is the most widely accepted among etymologists, but the other associations likely reinforced the name’s staying power.
Shakespeare’s Use in Macbeth
The most famous appearance of “maggot-pie” is in Act III, Scene 4 of Macbeth. After the ghost of Banquo disrupts his banquet, Macbeth says:
“It will have blood, they say; blood will have blood. / Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak; / By maggot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth / The secret’st man of blood.”
Macbeth is saying that nature itself exposes murderers. Stones move, trees speak, and birds like magpies, jackdaws (“choughs”), and rooks reveal the guilt of killers. The magpie fits this role perfectly. In Elizabethan England, magpies were associated with the devil, thievery, and ill omens. Shakespeare grouped the maggot-pie with other dark, corvid birds to reinforce the scene’s atmosphere of supernatural exposure and guilt.
The Magpie’s Reputation in Folklore
The superstitions Shakespeare drew on have deep roots in British culture. Magpies were considered unlucky birds, associated with witchcraft and death. Seeing a single magpie was bad luck, and people developed rituals to counteract it: saluting the bird, tipping a hat, or greeting it with “Good morning, Mr. Magpie, how are your wife and children?” These traditions persisted well into the 20th century across England and Scotland.
The most enduring piece of magpie folklore is the counting rhyme, with dozens of regional variations. The most common version begins: “One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy.” Some versions extend to five (“a letter”), six (“something better”), and beyond. The rhyme treats magpies as fortune-tellers, with the number you spot predicting what’s coming. This reputation for prophecy is exactly what Shakespeare tapped into when he placed the maggot-pie alongside other birds that reveal hidden truths.
Why “Pie” Also Means Pastry
There’s a quirky footnote to the word’s history. The pastry we call “pie” likely got its name from the bird. Medieval meat pies contained a jumble of different ingredients stuffed under a crust, which reminded people of the magpie’s nest, a messy collection of miscellaneous objects. The bird’s Latin name, pica, also gave its name to the eating disorder pica, which involves craving and consuming non-food items, another nod to the magpie’s reputation for consuming and collecting anything it finds.