poor as a churchmouse



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]
See also: poor

Common Names:

NameGenderPronouncedUsage
OrtrunAWRT-roonGerman
Idellaie-DEL-əEnglish
Pankratiy-Russian
Floriana-Italian, Ancient Roman
RamsesRAM-seez (English)Ancient Egyptian (Hellenized)
Pellegrino-Italian