Origin of the expression "you can't make chicken salad out of chicken something else"
An outline of the origins, uses and etymology of the phrase and its relation(s) can be found by Barry Popik. A summary:
The expressive flip side to “chicken salad” is “chicken feathers” (a euphemism for “chicken shit"). A difference “between chicken salad and chicken feathers” is cited in print in 1924; “like chicken salad compares with chicken feathers” is cited from 1930.