[Idiom] as poor as a church mouse

[nhathoang123]

Hi every one,
I'm an English tutor and my student asked me about the idiom "as poor as a church mouse". I know the meaning of the phrase but i couldn't tell him when the phrase first appeared and where it came from.
Can somebody help me with this. I'd really appreciate your help!

 

[Rover_KE]

Re: Where does this phrase come from?

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[probus]

I don't even think it is an idiom. I think it's plain English. Who can't guess that a church has little or no food for mice?

And as far as where it is found in the forums, it is certainly not slang.

 

[Tdol]

There wasn't much food in a church- mice in barns and houses would have more to feed on.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

Hi every one,
I'm an English tutor and my student asked me about the idiom "as poor as a church mouse". I know the meaning of the phrase but i couldn't tell him when the phrase first appeared and where it came from.
Can somebody help me with this. I'd really appreciate your help!

It's not an idiom. It's not slang. It's an expression.

Tell him to Google the phrase followed by the word derivation.