Poor as a churchmouse
Having little or no wealth and few possessions, as in She’s poor as a churchmouse, so you can’t expect her to donate anything. The reason for this long-used simile is unclear, but most believe that, since churches are not known for storing food, a mouse inside one would fare poorly. It has survived such earlier phrases as poor as Job. [ Second half of 1600s ]
Read Also:
- Poor-ass
adjective Wretched; nasty; lousy: a poor-ass place to live (1960s+)
- Poor-box
noun 1. a box, especially in a church, into which contributions for the poor can be dropped. noun 1. a box, esp one in a church, used for the collection of alms or money for the poor
- Poor-boy
noun 1. Southern U.S. (chiefly Gulf States) . a hero sandwich. noun phrase A very large sandwich; Dagwood, hero sandwich [1921+; coined and invented by Clovis and Benjamin Martin, who opened a New Orleans restaurant in 1921]
- Poor-boy it
verb phrase To be forced to impoverished extremities; be severely deprived: We’re poor-boying it in Criminal Court (1970s+)
- Poor-boy-sweater
noun 1. a snug-fitting, pullover sweater with ribbing on both the body and sleeves, worn by girls and women.