# poor as a church mouse

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/poor-as-a-church-mouse
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

Very poor, to the point of starving or begging; utterly destitute.

## Examples

- He has no money and is poor as a church mouse.
- After the business failed, the family found themselves poor as a church mouse and had to move in with relatives.
- Despite his noble lineage and grand family name, the young man lived in a tiny attic, as poor as a church mouse.

## Origin

The phrase is a variation of the earlier *hungry as a church mouse*, a comparison predicated on the lack of sustenance available within a house of worship. Catholic and Orthodox liturgical requirements dictate that priests must scrupulously prevent any crumb of the Eucharist—the bread understood to be the body of Christ—from falling to the altar or the floor. The thoroughness of this practice ensured that the local mice were left with no scraps upon which to feed, rendering them notably more deprived than their secular counterparts in granaries or kitchens. The expression is likely a corruption of an even older comparison, *as quiet as a church mouse*, which dates to the 1300s. The transition from silence to starvation reflects the mouse's enduring reputation as an inhabitant of an environment where both noise and crumbs are strictly discouraged.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.