catbird seat

短语

n. <美方>有权力的职位

发音

AU

词形变化

catbird seats 复数 catbird seats

释义与例句

n.
  1. 1.

    An enviable position, often one of great advantage.

    美国 习语

    With a big victory in the primary, he was sitting in the catbird seat.

词源

The expression, as it was in use in the 19th century in the southern United States, may originate in regard to the gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis). It was featured in the 1942 short story "The Catbird Seat" by James Thurber, and popularized by baseball commentator Red Barber, and often referred to baseball. The expression, according to James Thurber, comes from the observation of the catbird (an Australian bird) of the family Ptilonorhynchidae. Some of the male birds will assemble several hundred colored rocks or shells, arranging them in a remarkable artistic display, in order to build a "seat" atop which his mate will eventually be enthroned.

来源：wiktionary