(redirected from poorest)

poor form

Behavior or actions that are considered socially inappropriate, distasteful, or rude. It is generally acknowledged that pointing out a person's flaws in public is quite poor form.
See also: form, poor

house poor

Having the majority of one's income going towards the high costs of one's home, such as mortgage or rent, property tax, utilities, etc., leaving very little money remaining for other expenditures. I love our home, but neither of us can really afford this high rent, and it's making us rather house poor as a result.
See also: house, poor


Owning a large amount of land that is unprofitable and being without the means to maintain it or capitalize on its fertility. My fool of a husband used our savings to buy a big plot of land out west, and we've been land-poor for the last 10 years as a result.

po' boy

A traditional sandwich from New Orleans, Louisiana, made with a long roll of French bread and containing a variety of fillings, almost always with some kind of meat or fried seafood. ("Po' boy" being short for "poor boy," supposedly referring to striking workers in 1929 to whom a local restaurant served such sandwiches.) Primarily heard in US. Ever since leaving New Orleans to go to college, I can't stop craving a proper roast beef po' boy from back home. I'm ordering a dozen po' boys for the party, so if you have any food allergies, let me know this afternoon.
See also: boy

a poor craftsman blames his tools

If someone performs a job or task poorly or unsuccessfully, he or she will usually lay the blame on the quality of his or her equipment, or other such external factors, rather than take responsibility for his or her own failure. After John spent all day assembling his new desk only to discover it was lopsided, he immediately declared that the package must have contained the wrong pieces. His wife replied, "only poor craftsmen blame their tools, dear."
See also: blame, poor, tool

poor man's

A less desirable substitute for the genuine item. The local artist became known as the poor man's Picasso. I was happy with my new car, even though my friends called it a poor man's Jaguar.
See also: poor

poor relation

A less desirable substitute for the genuine item. The cheap motorcycle jacket I bought is nice, but it is a poor relation of actual leather.
See also: poor, relation

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, poor, 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, poor, 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, poor, rich

*poor as a church mouse

 and *poor as church mice
See also: church, mouse, poor

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, poor


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

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'.'
See also: poor

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: poor, relation

be as poor as church mice

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

poor as a churchmouse

See also: poor

poor relation

An inferior member of a group, as in Many regard Turkey as the poor relation in the European alliance. This expression, first recorded in 1720 for a family member in humble circumstances, began to be used figuratively in the mid-1900s.
See also: poor, relation

poor taste, in

Also, in bad taste. Not suitable, unseemly, offensive, as in His criticism of the Pope was in poor taste, or That television interview was in very bad taste. These idioms use taste in the sense of "discernment of what is appropriate."
See also: poor


1. mod. of very poor quality. (Usually objectionable.) This is piss-poor coffee. Pay the bill and let’s go.
2. mod. without any money; broke. (Usually objectionable.) Tell those piss-poor jerks to go beg somewhere else.


1. tv. to speak ill of someone. (see also bad-mouth.) Please don’t poor-mouth my brother.
2. in. to speak repeatedly of how little money one has; to plead poverty. Spend more time looking for a job and less time poor-mouthing.



poor boy

See also: boy, poor

poor as Job's turkey

Poverty-stricken. The biblical Job's hardships did not bode well for any barnyard creatures that depended on him for sustenance. This wonderfully descriptive old Southern phrase says all that needs to be said about someone in dire financial straits.
See also: poor, turkey

poor little rich girl

Unhappy heiress. In contrast to Job's turkey, the subject of this phrase wants for nothing—except emotional support. The original “poor little rich girl” was socialite Barbara Hutton, heiress to the Woolworth (“Five and Dime” stores) and E. F. Hutton investment banking fortunes. She had a lonely childhood, seven failed— and in many cases, exploitive—marriages, and died a broken (and nearly broke) woman at age sixty-six. The phrase has been applied to other women whose lives were sad in spite (or perhaps because of inherited wealth).
See also: girl, little, poor, rich
References in periodicals archive ?
40, than poorest families on clothes and footwear PS348.
In contrast, the number of drivers from the most affluent areas of the two local authorities is 215 or 32 per 10,000 - some 30% less than the rate of crashes among the poorest people.
The report found that the richest fifth of the population pay three percentage points less of their income in tax than the poorest fifth.
Save the Children found that in 2012 the infant mortality rate in DC's poorest neighborhood (Ward 8) was more than 10 times higher than the rate in DC's wealthiest community (Ward 3).
The TaxPayers' Alliance research found that direct and indirect taxes accounted for an average 47% of the gross income of the poorest 10% of households, with VAT accounting for the biggest share of the bill.
And while they say things will get better for the poorest 20 per cent in the coming years, the average skint PShousehold will still spend around PS1000 more than they earn by 2018.
But we are the poorest country and it is high time both Russians and Americans, and everydoby understand they cannot constantly demand things from the poorest country and the poorest people," Borisov made clear.
Barnardo's said that, as the minimum disposable income for the poorest 20% of families was PS39, such trips would be unaffordable.
The contract is for "services to organize summer camps for children and youth from the poorest families from the Malopolska Region.
Families have been hit by changes like fewer council tax exemptions and the "bedroom tax", says Multiple Cuts For The Poorest Families.
Of course it''s not just in South Africa where we see governments increasing the gap between rich and poor with the poorest being increasingly exploited and the wealthiest seeing their position increasingly secure.
Author Christopher Snowdon said: "The poorest spend a much higher proportion of their income on high-taxed products such as alcohol and tobacco.
The total annual relief of Rs 34 billion would be provided to the poorest families for food requirements, he said.
It is aiming to raise pounds 500,000 to help its work in the UK, targeting the poorest children - the first time it has appealed to the UK public for funds to help children at home.
It is aiming to raise Au500,000 to help its work in the UK, targeting the poorest children - the first time it has appealed to the UK public for funds to help children at home.