See poor as a church mouse on Wiktionary
Download JSON data for poor as a church mouse meaning in All languages combined (6.5kB)
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "hungry as a church mouse"
},
"expansion": "hungry as a church mouse",
"name": "m"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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.\nWhich seems to be a corruption of the even earlier expression “as quiet as a church mouse” from the 1300s.",
"head_templates": [
{
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"2": "phrase",
"head": "(as) poor as a church mouse"
},
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"name": "head"
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],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "phrase",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
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"parents": [
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"examples": [
{
"ref": "1844, a Mouse (sic), Le Peuple Souriquois: An Historical Sketch, in The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, vol. 71, pt. 2, page 428",
"text": "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.\""
},
{
"ref": "1879, John Beatty, The Citizen-Soldier, Cincinnati: Wilstach, Baldwin & Co., page 17",
"text": "She was an Eastern Virginia woman, and, although poor as a church mouse, thought herself superior to West Virginia people.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1932 April 9, Isidor Schneider, “Hard Luck Of Poets”, in The New York Times",
"text": "\"As poor as a poet\" would be quite as comprehensible as \"as poor as a church mouse.\"",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2009 September 23, Mark Gould, quoting Paul Pulford, “Former heroin addict inspires growing optimism from the wild side”, in The Guardian",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Very poor, to the point of starving or begging; utterly destitute."
],
"id": "en-poor_as_a_church_mouse-en-phrase-xHF1sWiY",
"links": [
[
"poor",
"poor"
],
[
"starving",
"starving"
],
[
"begging",
"begging"
],
[
"destitute",
"destitute"
]
],
"qualifier": "simile",
"raw_glosses": [
"(simile) Very poor, to the point of starving or begging; utterly destitute."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "quiet as a church mouse"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "poor as a rat"
},
{
"word": "poor as Job"
},
{
"word": "impoverished"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "br",
"lang": "Breton",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "paour evel ur razh-iliz"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "一貧如洗"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "yīpínrúxǐ",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "一贫如洗"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "chudý jako kostelní myš"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "fattig som en kirkerotte"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "very poor",
"tags": [
"vulgar"
],
"word": "geen nagel hebben om zijn gat mee af te krabben"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "zo arm als Job"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "zo arm als een kerkrat"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "köyhä kuin kirkonrotta"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "rutiköyhä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "gueux comme un rat d’église"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "pauvre comme Job"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "arm wie eine Kirchenmaus"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "pámftochos",
"sense": "very poor",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "πάμφτωχος"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "záftochos",
"sense": "very poor",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ζάφτωχος"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "den échei mía",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "δεν έχει μία"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "szegény, mint a templom egere"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "povero in canna"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"note": "教会のネズミのように貧しい (kyōkai-no nezumi-no yōni mazushii) (literal translation)",
"sense": "very poor"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "hijō-ni mazushii",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "非常に貧しい"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "blakk som en kirkerotte"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "ubogi jak mysz kościelna"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "biedny jak mysz kościelna"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "paupérrimo"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "bédnyj kak cerkóvnaja myšʹ",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "бе́дный как церко́вная мышь"
},
{
"code": "stq",
"lang": "Saterland Frisian",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "äärm as n Säärkenmúus"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "más pobre que una rata"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "fattig som en kyrkråtta"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "fattig som en råtta"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "fattig som en lus"
},
{
"code": "wa",
"lang": "Walloon",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "pôve come on rat d' eglijhe"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-poor as a church mouse.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/ce/En-au-poor_as_a_church_mouse.ogg/En-au-poor_as_a_church_mouse.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/En-au-poor_as_a_church_mouse.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "poor as a church mouse"
}
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "hungry as a church mouse"
},
"expansion": "hungry as a church mouse",
"name": "m"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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.\nWhich seems to be a corruption of the even earlier expression “as quiet as a church mouse” from the 1300s.",
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "phrase",
"head": "(as) poor as a church mouse"
},
"expansion": "(as) poor as a church mouse",
"name": "head"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "phrase",
"related": [
{
"word": "quiet as a church mouse"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English phrases",
"English similes",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with quotations",
"Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1844, a Mouse (sic), Le Peuple Souriquois: An Historical Sketch, in The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist, vol. 71, pt. 2, page 428",
"text": "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.\""
},
{
"ref": "1879, John Beatty, The Citizen-Soldier, Cincinnati: Wilstach, Baldwin & Co., page 17",
"text": "She was an Eastern Virginia woman, and, although poor as a church mouse, thought herself superior to West Virginia people.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1932 April 9, Isidor Schneider, “Hard Luck Of Poets”, in The New York Times",
"text": "\"As poor as a poet\" would be quite as comprehensible as \"as poor as a church mouse.\"",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2009 September 23, Mark Gould, quoting Paul Pulford, “Former heroin addict inspires growing optimism from the wild side”, in The Guardian",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Very poor, to the point of starving or begging; utterly destitute."
],
"links": [
[
"poor",
"poor"
],
[
"starving",
"starving"
],
[
"begging",
"begging"
],
[
"destitute",
"destitute"
]
],
"qualifier": "simile",
"raw_glosses": [
"(simile) Very poor, to the point of starving or begging; utterly destitute."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "poor as a rat"
},
{
"word": "poor as Job"
},
{
"word": "impoverished"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-poor as a church mouse.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/c/ce/En-au-poor_as_a_church_mouse.ogg/En-au-poor_as_a_church_mouse.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/En-au-poor_as_a_church_mouse.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "br",
"lang": "Breton",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "paour evel ur razh-iliz"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "一貧如洗"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "yīpínrúxǐ",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "一贫如洗"
},
{
"code": "cs",
"lang": "Czech",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "chudý jako kostelní myš"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "fattig som en kirkerotte"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "very poor",
"tags": [
"vulgar"
],
"word": "geen nagel hebben om zijn gat mee af te krabben"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "zo arm als Job"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "zo arm als een kerkrat"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "köyhä kuin kirkonrotta"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "rutiköyhä"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "gueux comme un rat d’église"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "pauvre comme Job"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "arm wie eine Kirchenmaus"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "pámftochos",
"sense": "very poor",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "πάμφτωχος"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "záftochos",
"sense": "very poor",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "ζάφτωχος"
},
{
"code": "el",
"lang": "Greek",
"roman": "den échei mía",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "δεν έχει μία"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "szegény, mint a templom egere"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "povero in canna"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"note": "教会のネズミのように貧しい (kyōkai-no nezumi-no yōni mazushii) (literal translation)",
"sense": "very poor"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"roman": "hijō-ni mazushii",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "非常に貧しい"
},
{
"code": "nb",
"lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "blakk som en kirkerotte"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "ubogi jak mysz kościelna"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "biedny jak mysz kościelna"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "paupérrimo"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "bédnyj kak cerkóvnaja myšʹ",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "бе́дный как церко́вная мышь"
},
{
"code": "stq",
"lang": "Saterland Frisian",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "äärm as n Säärkenmúus"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "más pobre que una rata"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "fattig som en kyrkråtta"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "fattig som en råtta"
},
{
"code": "sv",
"lang": "Swedish",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "fattig som en lus"
},
{
"code": "wa",
"lang": "Walloon",
"sense": "very poor",
"word": "pôve come on rat d' eglijhe"
}
],
"word": "poor as a church mouse"
}
{
"called_from": "form_descriptions/1698",
"msg": "unrecognized head form: as",
"path": [
"poor as a church mouse"
],
"section": "English",
"subsection": "phrase",
"title": "poor as a church mouse",
"trace": ""
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable All languages combined dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-12 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (ae36afe and 304864d). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.