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In the catbird seat was among the numerous folksy expressions that legendary baseball broadcaster Red Barber used to delight listeners. Some say he invented the expression; others say that he dug it up from his Southern origins. But the truth may be far stranger than those rumors. In a 1942 short story titled "The Catbird Seat," James Thurber featured a character, Mrs. Barrows, who liked to use the phrase. Another character, Joey Hart, explained that Mrs. Barrows must have picked up the expression from Red Barber. To Red, according to Joey, sitting in the catbird seat meant 'sitting pretty,' like a batter with three balls and no strikes on him. But, according to Barber's daughter, it was only after Barber read Thurber's story that he started using "in the catbird seat" himself.
Synonyms
Examples of catbird seat in a Sentence
Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Apr. 2022
Picking third, the Cavs were in the catbird seat.
—Chris Fedor, cleveland, 30 July 2021
Their continued inability to slay the Bengals knocks them from the conference's catbird seat.
—Nate Davis, USA TODAY, 5 Dec. 2022
And Shanae is in the catbird seat, still mulling over whether to pick Logan or James.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 18 Oct. 2022
The Hilton Nashville Downtown is the city’s most convenient hotel, on the catbird seat nestled between Broadway and Bridgestone Arena.
—Fox News, 23 Sep. 2022
Of the two Democratic leaders, Newsom had the easier path to the political catbird seat.
—John Myers, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2022
Despite the Wings’ catbird seat, the series couldn’t have been closer.
—Gene Myers, Detroit Free Press, 22 Apr. 2022
The company makes packaging, which should put it in the catbird seat as e-commerce became many people’s go-to during the pandemic.
—Brett Owens, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'catbird seat.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near catbird seat
Cite this Entry
“Catbird seat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/catbird%20seat. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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