not enough room to swing a cat
Related to not enough room to swing a cat: no room to swing a cat
not enough room to swing a cat
Very little or no space; very cramped quarters or proximity. Many families are forced to live in tiny apartments with not enough room to swing a cat. They overbooked the conference, and by the time we were all in the room there wasn't enough room to swing a cat.
See also: cat, enough, not, room, swing
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
not enough room to swing a cat
Rur. not very much space. Their living room was very small. There wasn't enough room to swing a cat. How can you work in a small room like this? There's not enough room to swing a cat.
See also: cat, enough, not, room, swing
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
not enough room to swing a cat
Very little space, cramped quarters, as in There's not enough room to swing a cat in this tent. This expression, first recorded in 1771, is thought to allude to the cat-o'-nine-tails, or "cat," a whip with nine lashes widely used to punish offenders in the British military.
See also: cat, enough, not, room, swing
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
not enough room to swing a cat
tv. very crowded or cramped; [of a room] small, It’s really crowded in here. Not enough room to swing a cat.
See also: cat, enough, not, room, swing
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
not enough room to swing a cat
Extremely cramped quarters. The origin of this expression is disputed. Many believe it alludes to swinging a cat-o’- nine-tails, a whip with nine lashes fastened to a handle, which was long used to punish offenders in the British military (it was formally abolished only in 1948). Others believe it refers to the Scots word cat for scoundrel, and thus to a criminal swinging from the gallows. Still others say it comes from the practice of swinging a live cat by its tail to serve as target practice for archers. Whatever the origin, the term was used by Smollett, Dickens, Twain, and numerous other writers.
See also: cat, enough, not, room, swing
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- no room to swing a cat
- at close quarters
- close quarters, at/in
- crowd (someone or something) out of (something)
- crowd out of
- squeeze into
- squeeze into (something)
- squeeze in
- two-by-four
- one big happy family