Catbird-seat
an advantageous situation or condition:
His appointment as acting dean put him in the catbird seat.
noun phrase
An enviable position; a controlling position: The owners are in the catbird seat (1930s+)
Related Terms
sit in the catbird seat
A situation of advantage or superiority, as in His promotion put Charles in the catbird seat. This term is thought to allude to that noisy bird’s habitual high perch. It was popularized in the 1940s by sportscaster Red Barber.
Read Also:
- Catch-crab
to seize or capture, especially after pursuit: to catch a criminal; to catch a runaway horse. to trap or ensnare: to catch a fish. to intercept and seize; take and hold (something thrown, falling, etc.): to catch a ball; a barrel to catch rain. to come upon suddenly; surprise or detect, as in some action: […]
- Straw
a single stalk or stem, especially of certain species of grain, chiefly wheat, rye, oats, and barley. a mass of such stalks, especially after drying and threshing, used as fodder. material, fibers, etc., made from such stalks, as used for making hats or baskets. the negligible value of one such stalk; trifle; least bit: not […]
- Catch a rail
catch a rail Related Terms take gas verb phrase To take a short respite from work; take a break [1929+; about the time it takes to smoke a cigarette]
- Catch-as-catch-can
Also, catch-can. taking advantage of any opportunity; using any method that can be applied: a catch-as-catch-can life, as an itinerant handyman. without specific plan or order: They lived catch-as-catch-can. a style of wrestling in which the contestants are permitted to trip, tackle, and use holds below the waist. Compare Greco-Roman (def 3). Historical Examples Anyhow, […]
- Catch-tartar
a member of any of the various tribes, chiefly Mongolian and Turkish, who, originally under the leadership of Genghis Khan, overran Asia and much of eastern Europe in the Middle Ages. a member of the descendants of this people variously intermingled with other peoples and tribes, now inhabiting parts of the European and W and […]