See Also: ECONOMICS

1. Destitution, like a famished rat, begins by gnawing at the edges of garments —Stefan Zweig
2. Her poverty was like a huge dream-mountain on which her feet were fast rooted … aching with the ache of the size of the thing —Katherine Mansfield
3. (I felt as) poor as a Catholic without a sin for confession —Harry Prince
4. Poor as a church mouse —Anon

   Like Job, mice (and rats) have long been, and continue to be, proverbial comparisons for poverty. The writer most frequently credited with originating the simile is William Makepeace Thackeray who used it in Vanity Fair

5. Poor as a couple of shithouse spiders —Leslie Thomas
6. Poor as Job —Anon

   A simile with a history dating back to the thirteenth century, and used by many illustrious writers. In Henry IV, Shakespeare extended it to, “Poor as Job … but not so patient,” while Sir Walter Scott in The Fortunes of Nigel made it, “Proud as Lucifer, and as poor as Job.” A variation that was once a popular American colloquialism is “Poor as Job’s turkey.”

7. Poor as sin —F. Scott Fitzgerald
8. A poor man who oppresses the poor is like a sweeping rain which leaves no food —The Holy Bible/Proverbs

   The words ‘oppresses’ and ‘leaves’ have been modernized from ‘oppresseth’ and ‘leaveth.’

9. Poverty is death in another form —Latin proverb
10. Poverty, like wealth, entails a ritual of adaptation —Arthur A. Cohen
11. Wearing squalor like a badge —Wilfrid Sheed

(See also INDEBTEDNESS, SUBSISTENCE.)

beggar’s bush Beggary, financial ruin, bankruptcy; often in the phrases to go by beggar’s bush or to go home by beggar’s bush. The allusion is to a certain tree on the left side of the London road from Huntingdon to Caxton, where beggars once frequently gathered. This British expression, rarely heard today, dates from the late 16th century.

down-at-the-heel Poor, destitute; of slovenly or shabby appearance; also, out-at-the-heel. The latter usually refers to holes in one’s stockings; the former, to the run-down condition of one’s shoes.

from hand to mouth See PRECARIOUSNESS.

hard up In financial straits, short of cash, out-of-pocket. Originally nautical, this expression was usually used in the imperative, directing that the helm or tiller be pushed as far windward as it would go in order to turn the ship’s bow away from the wind. Since this maneuver was usually necessitated by a storm or other potentially disastrous situation, the phrase took on the general sense of difficulty or straits. The nonnautical use of this expression dates from the early 19th century.

in Carey Street Penniless, flat broke, destitute. This British colloquial expression takes its name from Carey Street in London, the former location of the Bankruptcy Court. It has been in use since 1922.

in low water Financially hard up, strapped, broke, impoverished. Although the exact origin of this expression is unknown, it may be related to the precarious condition of a ship finding itself in low water or about to go “on the rocks.” This expression dates from the latter half of the 18th century.

See also on the rocks, INDEBTEDNESS.

on one’s beam-ends In financial difficulties, in imminent danger of bankruptcy. The reference is to a vessel on her beam-ends, that is, on her side such that the beams—the transverse timbers supporting the deck—are practically touching the water. Obviously, any vessel in such a state is in immediate danger of overturning. The phrase has been used figuratively since the early 19th century.

on one’s uppers Impoverished, down-and-out; shabby-looking, down-at-the-heel. This phrase, of U.S. origin, appeared in The Century Dictionary (1891). The uppers are the upper leathers of shoes or boots; a person “on his uppers” has worn through both sole and welt. Footgear as indicative of financial status is also found in the term well-heeled (though this is probably of unrelated origin), and in the above-noted down-at-the-heel.

on the high-road to Needham See DEGENERATION.

out at elbows Shabbily dressed; down-and-out, poverty-stricken; in financial difficulties. A coat worn through at the elbows has long been a symbol of poverty. The expression appeared in print by the time of Shakespeare.

poor as a churchmouse Extremely poor; impoverished, insolvent; poor but proud. This expression, popular since the 17th century, is probably derived from a tale which recounts the plight of a mouse that attempted to find food in a church. Since most churches, including that of the story, do not have kitchens, the proud mouse found it difficult to survive since its pickings were slim at best.

poor as Job Poverty-stricken, indigent, destitute. The allusion is to the extreme poverty which befell the central character in the Book of Job. In spite of a series of devastating calamities, Job remained steadfast in his faith and trust in God, and has long been the personification of both poverty and patience.

A related expression, poor as Job’s turkey, is credited to Thomas C. Haliburton (1796–1865), a Canadian judge and humorist. Haliburton, using the pseudonym Sam Slick, described Job’s turkey as so poor that it had only one feather, and so weak that it had to lean against a fence in order to gobble. Job, of course, never had a turkey—poor or otherwise—as the bird is a native of North America. A variation is poor as Job’s cat.