poor as a churchmouse

Idioms and Phrases

Having little or no wealth and few possessions, as in She's poor as a churchmouse, so you can't expect her to donate anything . The reason for this long-used simile is unclear, but most believe that, since churches are not known for storing food, a mouse inside one would fare poorly. It has survived such earlier phrases as poor as Job . [Second half of 1600s]