in the catbird seat
idiomatic phrase

- in a superior or advantageous position

Oxford Languages

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PHRASE ORIGIN

"The catbird seat" derives from the secluded perch on which the gray catbird makes mocking calls.

The phrase was popularized by two 20th-century figures: broadcaster Red Barber and writer James Thurber.

Red Barber, a sports broadcaster for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the New York Yankees, often used the term during baseball games to describe a player or team in a strong position. Barber claimed he'd picked it up in the South.

However, the phrase was also brought to prominence by the American humorist and cartoonist James Thurber. In his 1942 short story "The Catbird Seat”, the main character’s fondness for the phrase becomes a significant plot point.

The exact path this phrase took from Southern vernacular to widespread idiomatic usage is unclear, but it's undoubtedly tied to both Barber's and Thurber's popularization.

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IDIOMATIC & METAPHORICAL SYNONYMS

- position of power and advantage

ace in the hole, ace up your sleeve, big cheese, box seat, calling the shots, card up one's sleeve, centre stage, coign of vantage, death grip, first chair (place, position), flying start, foothold, front seat, game in hand, having the say-so, head honcho, high ground, inside lane (track), IN THE CATBIRD SEAT, in the driver's seat (the saddle), king of the hill, kingpin, might and main, power behind the throne, pulling the strings, ruling the roost, secret weapon, sitting pretty, strong arm, stronghold, superpower, supreme authority, teeth, the edge (reins, upper hand, whip hand, word), top banana (brass, dog, of the heap, rung, spot), total domination, trump card (hand), upper edge, vantage (point), wearing the trousers, what it takes, whip hand, winner's circle, winning position

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THANKS to Denis for suggesting today’s OWAD.

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“In any organizational structure, it’s always wise to find out who is sitting IN THE CATBIRD SEAT.”

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