Word.ws English Dictionary

guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl

guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl adjective: conspicuously guilty.

Adjective

guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl (not comparable)

  1. (rare, simile) Conspicuously guilty.
    • But the prosecutor’s got you cold! You’re as guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl!1981, Daniel Goldberg (producer), Heavy Metal (film), Canadian Film Development
    • Sitting in a comfy air-conditioned cell watching cable tv while waiting for their state-appointed lawyer to spring them on a loophole even though they're as guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl. The victim is still dead and therefore has no rights.1994 November 11, Brad Ensminger, “Hang 'Em High”, in alt.activism.death-penalty (Usenet)

Examples of guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl in a sentence

  • OJ is as guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl, and everybody knows it.2000 June 13, Flykiller, “O.J. Goes on the Offensive”, in alt.rush-limbaugh (Usenet):
  • He's as guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl.2012, Michael Juge, Refurbished Soul, Book Three of the Shift Trilogy, page 140:

Questions about guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl

What does guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl mean?
Guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl means conspicuously guilty.
How do you use guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl in a sentence?
OJ is as guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl, and everybody knows it.
What part of speech is guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl?
Guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl is an adjective.

Words near guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl in the dictionary

  1. guiltlike
  2. guiltridden
  3. guilts
  4. guiltware
  5. guilty
  6. guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl
  7. guilty as charged
  8. guilty as sin
  9. guilty conscience
  10. guilty pleasure
  11. guilty pleasures

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: guilty as a cat in a goldfish bowl (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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