catbird seat

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nounInformal.
  1. an advantageous situation or condition: His appointment as acting dean put him in the catbird seat.

Origin of catbird seat

1
An Americanism dating back to 1940–45

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use catbird seat in a sentence

Other Idioms and Phrases with catbird seat

catbird seat

A situation of advantage or superiority, as in His promotion put Charles in the catbird seat. This term is thought to allude to that noisy bird's habitual high perch. It was popularized in the 1940s by sportscaster Red Barber.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.