Idiom
not enough room to swing a cat
Meanings
Extremely cramped; having very little space to move around.
Definition
Used to say a place is extremely small or cramped with very little free space.
“Not enough room to swing a cat” means a room or area is so cramped that there is hardly any space to move. People use it to complain about tight, crowded conditions, especially indoors. It is usually a humorous exaggeration and does not refer to any real animal.
Examples
- This kitchen is so small there’s not enough room to swing a cat.
- With all these boxes, there’s not enough room to swing a cat in here.
- Their studio apartment has not enough room to swing a cat.
- Once the guests arrived, there was not enough room to swing a cat.
- I can’t even stretch out—there’s not enough room to swing a cat.
More at C1 level
- Monday morning quarterback A “Monday morning quarterback” is someone who criticizes decisions after the outcome is already kno…
- close but no cigar Used to say someone almost succeeded but did not quite achieve the goal.
- come hell or high water No matter what happens or how difficult things become.
- brass monkeys “Brass monkeys” is used in the expression “cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey,” mea…
- get down to brass tacks To get down to brass tacks means to start discussing the most important practical details of someth…
More idioms
- Bob's your uncle Used to say that something will be easy or will happen exactly as expected after a simple step.
- close but no cigar Used to say someone almost succeeded but did not quite achieve the goal.
- down to the wire If something goes down to the wire, it is decided at the very last moment before the deadline or fi…
- lost the plot To become confused or unreasonable and no longer understand what is happening or what matters.
- ducks in a row To have everything organized and ready in the correct order.