Idioms

poorhouse

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be in the poorhouse

1. dated Literally, to live in a publicly maintained institution for those who are poor. People aren't actually in the poorhouse anymore—this isn't Dickensian England. I'm not surprised Reginald is in the poorhouse these days—he was always squandering his money on lavish things that no man needs. According to my grandmother, we have relatives who were in the poorhouse during that economic downturn in the 1800s.
2. By extension, to have no money. Usually used hyperbolically. With a mortgage payment that high, you guys will be in the poorhouse! After putting four kids through college, we're gonna be in the poorhouse! You fool! You're gonna be in the poorhouse if you keep gambling your savings like that!
See also: poorhouse

end up in the poorhouse

1. dated Literally, to begin living in a publicly maintained institution for those who are poor. People don't actually end up in the poorhouse anymore—this isn't Dickensian England. I'm not surprised Reginald ended up in the poorhouse—he was always squandering his money on lavish things that no man needs. According to my grandmother, we have relatives who ended up in the poorhouse during that economic downturn in the 1800s.
2. By extension, to have no money. Usually used hyperbolically. With a mortgage payment that high, you guys will end up in the poorhouse! After putting four kids through college, we're gonna end up in the poorhouse! You fool! You're gonna end up in the poorhouse if you keep gambling your savings like that!
See also: end, poorhouse, up

in the poorhouse

1. dated Literally, living in a publicly maintained institution for those who are poor. People don't live in the poorhouse today—this isn't Dickensian England. I'm not surprised Reginald is in the poorhouse these days—he was always squandering his money on lavish things that no man needs. According to my grandmother, we have relatives who were in the poorhouse during that economic downturn in the 1800s.
2. By extension, having no money. Usually used hyperbolically. With a mortgage payment that high, you guys will end up in the poorhouse! After putting four kids through college, we're gonna be in the poorhouse! You fool! You're gonna be in the poorhouse if you keep gambling your savings like that!
See also: poorhouse
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

*in the poorhouse

 
1. Lit. in a (historical) communal dwelling for impoverished persons. (*Typically: live ~; end up ~.) He couldn't pay his debts and had to live in the poorhouse.
2. Fig. in a state of poverty. (*Typically: live ~; end up ~.) If I lose my job, we'll end up in the poorhouse.
See also: poorhouse
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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References in periodicals archive
(2008) interpret the Minoritenweg cemetery as belonging to a poorhouse based on several lines of evidence.
Investigating Diet and Disease in a Medieval German Poorhouse Population using Isotopic Analysis of Human and Faunal Tissues
Davis also called his production company Poorhouse and when he died, I organized a scholarship in his name and his widow allowed me to use it."
Reiner Moritz: arts & music have been his beat, from Germany, U.K
It's your daughters' actions that land them in jail, and your actions that are sending you to the poorhouse; God has nothing to do with it.
How do I afford to make a pilgrimage?
Destitute people could be denied benefits or admission to the poorhouse if they were judged to be immoral, lazy, alcoholic, quarrelsome, or a bad influence on others.
Pride and Prejudice and poor laws
Nesbit's team and visit their world, and Rosalind even spends some time in an Edwardian poorhouse.
Wilson, Jacqueline: Four Children and It
"The Poorhouse: Subsidized Housing in Chicago" by Chicago history and architecture expert Devereux Bowley, Jr., is a 288-page compendium providing a comprehensively detailed historical study of subsidized housing in the Chicago from 1895 down to the present time.
The American History Shelf
Businesses and households were living beyond their means; the nation was in hock, Micawber-style, and heading for the poorhouse.
Help Midlands manufacture UK recovery
The only nineteenth-century article specifically about the ugly law in the Chicago Tribune, written several days after the publication of the new ordinances, states that getting crippled beggars out of sight by putting them in the poorhouse "WILL BE A PUBLIC BENEFIT" (capitals in original) because they tend to be a "shock to the ordinary nerves." The law was one of many pieces of legislation designed to regulate the poor and therefore was popular rather than controversial.
Diseased, maimed, mutilated: categorizations of disability and an ugly law in late nineteenth-century Chicago
amethysts from the Painter Farm, microclines from the Poorhouse quarry, clinochlore variety kammererite from the Scott mine, and others.
The mines and minerals of Chester County, Pennsylvania
Later authors elaborated on the poorhouse's role in social control, arguing that the deplorable conditions in many institutions acted to deter the working class from asking for poor relief.
For whose benefit?: social control and the construction of Providence's Dexter Asylum
Emily Van Sheldon wants anything in the world to get out of the poorhouse, even if it means marrying only for profit.
One Dance with a Stranger
It's safe to assume that losing a deposit won't put you in the poorhouse. You can avoid many mishaps simply by using reputable vendors; in addition, they may already have insurance that would reimburse you for losses.
Ask your advocate
ISTANBUL, Sep 4, 2009 (TUR) -- Turkish State Minister and Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis attended a fast-breaking dinner at Istanbul's Darulaceze (poorhouse) on Thursday.
(GEN) STATE MINISTER BAGIS ATTENDS FAST-BREAKING DINNER AT DARULACEZE
Once ashore, he approached a decaying building, formerly Newport's poorhouse, placed his hand on the dilapidated door and said:
The Naval War College: educating leaders for 125 years
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