poor (redirected from poorness)

*poor as a church mouse and *poor as church mice

very poor. (*Also: as ~.) My aunt is as poor as a church mouse. The Browns are poor as church mice.

See also: church, mouse

in bad taste and in poor taste

rude; vulgar; obscene. Mrs. Franklin felt that your joke was in bad taste. We found the play to be in poor taste, so we walked out in the middle of the second act.

See also: bad, taste

It is a poor heart that never rejoices. and It is a sad heart that never rejoices.

Prov. Even a habitually sad person cannot be sad all the time. (Sometimes used to indicate that a habitually sad person is happy about something.) Jill: I've never seen Sam smile before, but today, at his retirement party, he smiled. Jane: It is a poor heart that never rejoices.

See also: heart, never, rejoice

land so poor it wouldn't even raise a fuss and land too poor to raise a racket on

Rur. land where nothing will grow. I inherited two hundred acres from my uncle, but it's land so poor it wouldn't even raise a fuss. The soil's exhausted. That land is so poor it wouldn't even raise a fuss. Jill can grow a garden anywhere, even on land too poor to raise a racket on.

See also: even, fuss, land, raise

one law for the rich and another for the poor

Prov. Rich people are sometimes able to escape without punishment when they commit crimes, while poor people are usually punished. It doesn't seem fair—rich people can avoid paying their taxes and not get in trouble, but poor people are always punished if they don't pay. We shouldn't have one law for the rich and another for the poor.

See also: and, another, law, one, rich

poor but clean

Cliché having little money but clean and of good habits, nonetheless. (Either extremely condescending or jocular. Some people would consider it offensive.) My salary isn't very high, and I only have one old car. Anyway, I'm poor but clean. When Fred uttered the phrase "poor but clean" in reference to some of the people working in the yard, Ellen went into a rage.

See also: but, clean

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a poor man's somebody/something

someone or something that is similar to a well-known person or thing but is not as good He was only ever a mediocre singer - they used to call him 'the poor man's Frank Sinatra'. 'So what did you think of the film?' 'It was just a poor man's 'Pulp Fiction'.'

a poor relation

someone or something that is believed to be less important than another similar person or thing Video, once seen as the poor relation of cinema, is now a major source of revenue for film companies.

See also: relation

be as poor as church mice  (old-fashioned)

to be very poor When we first got married, we were as poor as church mice.

See also: church, mice

dirt-poor  (informal)

extremely poor Most of the population in this undeveloped area were dirt-poor and jobless.