not enough room to swing a cat

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

Attested 1665, by which point already in common use; perhaps of naval slang origin. While it is frequently stated that the phrase is derived from cat-o’-nine-tails (“type of whip”), this latter term is only attested from 1695, and hence this idiom presumably derived from literally swinging a cat around, as by the tail.

8 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Finnish: ahdas kuin mikä — of a room, very little space available
• Hungarian: egy gombostűt se lehetett volna leejteni — of a room, very little space available
• Japanese: 猫の額 — of a room, very little space available
• Polish: ciasnota — of a room, very little space available
• Russian: яблоку негде упасть (jabloku negde upastʹ) — of a room, very little space available
• Ukrainian: го́лці ні́де впа́сти (hólci níde vpásty) — of a room, very little space available
• Ukrainian: я́блуку ні́де впа́сти (jábluku níde vpásty) — of a room, very little space available
• Welsh: does dim lle i chwipio chwannen — of a room, very little space available