peckingorder

peck·ing order (pĕkʹĭng) n.

1. A hierarchy among a group, as of people, classes, or nations: “The astronauts had developed a pecking order that was military in its rigidity” (Tom Wolfe).

2. The social hierarchy in a flock of domestic fowl in which each bird pecks subordinate birds and submits to being pecked by dominant birds.

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