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He's sitting in the catbird seat.
Red Barber

Meaning of "catbird seat" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

PRONUNCIATION OF CATBIRD SEAT

catbird seat  [ˈkætbɜːd siːt] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF CATBIRD SEAT

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Catbird seat is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

WHAT DOES CATBIRD SEAT MEAN IN ENGLISH?

catbird seat

Catbird seat

"The catbird seat" is an idiomatic phrase used to describe an enviable position, often in terms of having the upper hand or greater advantage in all types of dealings among parties. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded usage occurred in a 1942 humorous short story by James Thurber titled "The Catbird Seat," which features a character, Mrs. Barrows, who likes to use the phrase. Another character, Joey Hart, explains that Mrs. Barrows must have picked up the expression from Red Barber, a baseball broadcaster, and that to Barber "sitting in the catbird seat" meant "'sitting pretty,' like a batter with three balls and no strikes on him." The phrase "In the catbird seat" was among the numerous folksy expressions used by Barber. According to Barber's daughter, after her father read Thurber's story, he began using the phrase "in the catbird seat." This seems to reverse events, however, as the passage of story quoted above clearly references Barber himself.

Definition of catbird seat in the English dictionary

The definition of catbird seat in the dictionary is to be in the catbird seat, to be sitting in the catbird seat to be in a very good situation.

WORDS THAT RHYME WITH CATBIRD SEAT


backseat
ˈbæksiːt
basidiomycete
bæˌsɪdɪəʊmaɪˈsiːt
cete
siːt
conceit
kənˈsiːt
deceit
dɪˈsiːt
facete
fəˈsiːt
loveseat
ˈlʌvˌsiːt
odontocete
ɒˈdɒntəˌsiːt
receipt
rɪˈsiːt
reseat
riːˈsiːt
seat
siːt
unseat
ʌnˈsiːt

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE CATBIRD SEAT

catastrophe theory
catastrophic
catastrophically
catastrophism
catastrophist
catatonia
catatonic
catatonically
Catawba
catbird
catboat
catbrier
catcall
catcaller
catch
catch a cold
catch a crab
catch a few zeds
catch basin
catch crop

WORDS THAT END LIKE CATBIRD SEAT

aisle seat
baby seat
back seat
bench seat
booster seat
box seat
child seat
county seat
driver´s seat
hot seat
in the box seat
in the driver´s seat
jump seat
love seat
mercy seat
passenger seat
rumble seat
to be in the driver´s seat
to be in the driving seat
toilet seat
window seat

Synonyms and antonyms of catbird seat in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

Translation of «catbird seat» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF CATBIRD SEAT

Find out the translation of catbird seat to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of catbird seat from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «catbird seat» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

catbird座
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

posición ventajosa
570 millions of speakers

English

catbird seat
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

केटबार्ड सीट
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

مقعد catbird
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

дрозд сиденья
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

assento catbird
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

বিড়ালছড়ি আসন
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

siège catbird
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Tempat duduk katbird
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

Catbird Sitz
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

権力の座
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

선망
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Jogging catbird
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

chỗ chim cú mèo
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

கேபர்பிட் இருக்கை
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

कॅटबर्ड आसन
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

Catbird koltuğu
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

sede catbird
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

catbird Użytkowników
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

дрізд сидіння
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

scaun catbird
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

catbird κάθισμα
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

lijster sitplek
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

catbird säte
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

catbird sete
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of catbird seat

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «CATBIRD SEAT»

The term «catbird seat» is normally little used and occupies the 109.672 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Little used
49
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «catbird seat» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of catbird seat
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «catbird seat».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «CATBIRD SEAT» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «catbird seat» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «catbird seat» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about catbird seat

EXAMPLES

QUOTES WITH «CATBIRD SEAT»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word catbird seat.
1
Red Barber
He's sitting in the catbird seat.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «CATBIRD SEAT»

Discover the use of catbird seat in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to catbird seat and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat
Here is Red giving major play-by-plays of his own life and career with characteristic wit and integrity.
Red Barber, 1968
2
The Catbird Seat: South Beach Romances
In these stories, all previously published only in e-book format, men find each other and fall in love, all against a backdrop of Art Deco architecture and the sparkling Atlantic Ocean.The Catbird Seat: South Beach Romances offers a ...
Neil S. Plakcy, 2013
3
Now You Know Baseball
What is the advantage of “sitting in the catbird seat”? “Sitting in the catbird seat” means you have an advantage over the opposition. The catbird is a thrush, and like its cousin, the mockingbird, perches among the highest branches of a tree and ...
Doug Lennox, 2010
4
Where Men Hide
He's in the catbird seat. And he knows it. You don't have to be a god to sit in the catbird seat. This seat first appears in the 1940s in a short story by James Thurber called "The Catbird Seat" (you can find the story in The Thurber Carnival) .
James B. Twitchell, 2007
5
The Catbird Seat
Screenplay adapted from their novel by authors Busch and Bill Pearson, and by Si Litvinoff.
Niven Busch, Bill Pearson, Si Litvinoff, 1979
6
Happiness in the Catbird Seat: Conversations with CEOs
But what defines happiness once you are there? When you are sitting in Thurber's proverbial "catbird seat," what is happiness?
Margot Murphy Moore, Sloan School of Management, 2007
7
California Prehistory: Colonization, Culture, and Complexity
... of well-sorted silt, sand, and gravel. The floodplains contain elevated natural levees that were favored as prehistoric habitation areas. | Ill' 1021.] Mil Erlil Militia !in Is an an so. 147 Chapter 10 The Central Valley: A View from the Catbird's Seat .
Terry L. Jones, Kathryn A. Klar, 2007
8
For the Birds: An Uncommon Guide
Although one banded catbird survived over ten years, most never see their first birthday, and few live beyond two. If someone says you're sitting in the catbird's seat, you'd be wise to find out how literally it's meant — you might be in big trouble.
Laura Erickson
9
From the Catbird Seat
Doughtie is a rare combination of American controlled exuberance & an almost British kind of don't-choose-sides analytical perception. It's a good read. "The book leaves you with a glow."-Eugene Walter. To order contact: High Cotton, Inc.
Charles Doughtie, 1992
10
U.S. Capitalist Development Since 1776: Of, By, and for ...
In the Catbird Seat Efforts by corporate liberals and their supporters to create a new State system after 1900 were halting, contradictory, and controversial; the onset of World War I speeded up the development, gave it more coherence, and  ...
Douglas Fitzgerald Dowd, 1993

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «CATBIRD SEAT»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term catbird seat is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Is this a golden era for starting pitching?
... gods keep arms like Sale's healthy. WAR figures from Baseball-Reference.com. For more on the White Sox, check out The Catbird Seat blog. «ESPN, Jul 15»
2
Blue Jays should trade for Jeff Samardzija
Collin Whitchurch of The Catbird Seat blog suggests the Toronto Blue Jays ... For more on the White Sox, check out The Catbird Seat blog. «ESPN, Jul 15»
3
District I host team well-armed for BLWS
“If you win the first two (games), you're sitting in the catbird seat if you get to Saturday and you're 2-0,” Powell said. Ten players on Powell's ... «Greenville News, Jul 15»
4
#MayoralChatter: Kane Secures New Endorsement, Fox Releases …
... including some from recognizable hip-business folk like Max Goldberg of Strategic Hospitality (Pinewood Social, The Catbird Seat, etc.). «Nashville Scene, Jul 15»
5
Austin Dillon wins Xfinity race at Daytona – Independent Mail
“We were definitely in the catbird seat there going into the back straightaway there with Joey Logano pushing us”, Sadler said. “It's a shame, we ... «The Bell Jar, Jul 15»
6
Three shots separate 16 players at top of Greenbrier Classic …
Sharing the catbird seat with Bohn were Sean O'Hair, S.J. Park and Bryce Molder, but there are 16 players within three shots of the lead, setting ... «Charleston Daily Mail, Jul 15»
7
W. Jerry Allen: Bamboozling Boulder
It's the city in the catbird seat, not the out-of-state corporations. In any case, 2,000 Boulder families will be profoundly affected by whatever ... «The Daily Camera, Jul 15»
8
Youth baseball: Los Altos 11s sitting pretty after District 44 victory
SUNNYVALE -- The Los Altos-Los Altos Hills 10-11-year-old all-stars are sitting in the catbird seat. After a tense 6-3 win over Campbell in a ... «Daily Democrat, Jul 15»
9
Everything You Need to Know from Day 3 of 2015 NBA Free Agency
According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, the San Antonio Spurs are currently sharing the catbird seat with the Phoenix Suns in pursuit ... «Bleacher Report, Jul 15»
10
Looking for a good wine list? Two Nashville restaurants get national …
"The Catbird Seat's program is unique in that selections are chosen for their affinity with the dynamic tasting menu—whether glass offerings for ... «Nashville Business Journal, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Catbird seat [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/catbird-seat>. May 2024 ».
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