As Poor As A Church Mouse

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Meaning:

As Poor As A Church Mouse means to have little or no money. It is said that it came about in the 1600s to explain that if a mouse live in a church it went quite hungry due to a church having no food storage, the original saying was "as hungry as a church mouse.” From there the phrase got Changed to as poor as a church mouse - because if you have no food, you probably have no money.

Origin:

This saying as poor as a church mouse was first written in 1682 in The Royalist, in a comedy by Thomas D'Urfey it read:

"' Gad if he threatens me agen, I'll take the Law of him; I know how to deal with such Tories as himself; I'll hoist him into Westminster-Hall with a wet finger, and so drill him from Court to Court, till he's as poor as a Church-Mouse, or an honest Attorney."

Example:

Today we still use as poor as a church mouse to declare we have very little money. An example sentence is:

"I wish I could go out to eat with my friends, but I don't have any extra cash, I am as poor as a church mouse."

Watch this on YouTube here - No Money Video - YouTube Video

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