What is meant by "headless chicken"?

Question:Just wanted to know the idiomatic basis for this phrase.

Answers:
This refers to a person who's doing a lot of activity or using a lot of energy, but not accomplishing anything.

The origin is that when a chicken is beheaded (in preparation for cooking) the body will sometimes run a few steps before collapsing. However, since there's no brain controlling the body, it just runs aimlessly.
When chickens' heads are cut off, the bodies will sometimes still run around (really), so "running around like a headless chicken" or "running around like a chicken with its head cut off" means you're running around frantically and stupidly.
Chickens can live for quite some time without a head. Maybe this has got something to do with the phrase. It means running around in a panic.
A headless chicken (after it just had it head cut off) runs around erratically and with great speed due to the nerve endings. When someone is like a headless chicken they are running around erratically but with no purpose.
It means that you are very disorginized and confused

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