catbird seat

noun, Informal.
1.
an advantageous situation or condition:
His appointment as acting dean put him in the catbird seat.
Origin
1940-45, Americanism
Examples from the web for catbird seat
  • He who wins the catbird seat has earned sole occupancy.
  • We were still in the catbird seat in terms of advertising, circulation, and everything.
Slang definitions & phrases for catbird seat

catbird seat

noun phrase

An enviable position; a controlling position: The owners are in the catbird seat (1930s+)

Related Terms

sit in the catbird seat


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.