Dictionary

poor as a church mouse en · ADJ

Pronunciation

(Australia) audio

Etymology

Alteration of earlier hungry as a church mouse, from the fact that Catholic and Orthodox priests are called to scrupulously prevent any crumb of the sacrament of Eucharist (the bread which is understood to be Christ's body) from falling on the altar or to the ground, meaning that church mice had no crumbs to feed on. This phrase seems to be a corruption of the even earlier expression “as quiet as a church mouse” from the 1300s.

Meanings

(idiomatic, not-comparable, qualifier:simile) Very poor, to the point of starving or begging; utterly destitute.
- Pulford is currently building a raised bed for an allotment, and another school garden is due to open soon. "I'm poor as a church mouse, but I wake up a happy man," he says. 2009 September 23, Mark Gould, quoting Paul Pulford, “Former heroin addict inspires growing optimism from the wild side”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 31 Dec 2023:
- "As poor as a poet" would be quite as comprehensible as "as poor as a church mouse." 1932 April 9, Isidor Schneider, “Hard Luck Of Poets”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 11 Feb 2026:
- But to return to our public functions; that we have had a decided turn for the church appears from the fact that the church-mouse is a recognised order amongst us, and it is our just pride that we alone have preserved the genuine character of the institution as founded by the Apostles, inasmuch as our poverty has passed into a proverb— "as poor as a church-mouse." 1844, a Mouse (sic), Le Peuple Souriquois: An Historical Sketch, in The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, vol. 71, pt. 2, page 428
- She was an Eastern Virginia woman, and, although poor as a church mouse, thought herself superior to West Virginia people. 1879, John Beatty, The Citizen-Soldier, Cincinnati: Wilstach, Baldwin & Co., page 17:

quiet as a church mouse

Synonyms

beggared · moneyless · pauperized · broker than the Ten Commandments · arm · impecunious · feeling the pinch · empty-handed · down on one's uppers · skint · down at heel · poverty-ridden · poor as Job · dirt poor · disadvantaged · down on one's luck · stony-broke · groatless · impoverished · broke · possessionless · threadbare · almsless · poor as a rat · down and out · necessitous · poor as Job · lower-class · stuck · stone-broke · poor · boracic · penniless · flat · farthingless · in need · poor as a church mouse · indigent · beggarly · wealthless · destitute · pinched · broken · penurious · badly off · needy · unwealthy · bankrupt · pok kai · oofless · poor as a rat · strapped · depauperate · insolvent · shillingless · goodless · poverty-stricken · hard up

Translations (31)

nl arm als een kerkrat (very poor) · el πάμφτωχος (very poor) · sv fattig som en lus (very poor) · nl arm als Job (very poor) · fi rutiköyhä (very poor) · it povero in canna (very poor) · ja 教会のネズミのように貧しい (very poor) · fr pauvre comme Job (very poor) · stq äärm as n Säärkenmúus (very poor) · el ζάφτωχος (very poor) · sv fattig som en råtta (very poor) · el δεν έχει μία (very poor) · cs chudý jako kostelní myš (very poor) · vi nghèo rớt mồng tơi (very poor) · de arm wie eine Kirchenmaus (very poor) · ja 非常に貧しい (very poor) · fi köyhä kuin kirkonrotta (very poor) · pl ubogi jak mysz kościelna (very poor) · da fattig som en kirkerotte (very poor) · ru бе́дный как церко́вная мышь (very poor) · wa pôve come on rat d' eglijhe (very poor) · nb blakk som en kirkerotte (very poor) · nl geen nagel hebben om zijn gat mee af te krabben (very poor) · cmn 一貧如洗 /一贫如洗 (very poor) · hu szegény, mint a templom egere (very poor) · pt paupérrimo (very poor) · sv fattig som en kyrkråtta (very poor) · fr gueux comme un rat d'église (very poor) · es más pobre que una rata (very poor) · pl biedny jak mysz kościelna (very poor) · br paour evel ur razh-iliz (very poor)