not enough room to swing a cat

Etymology
Attested 1665, by which point already in common use; perhaps of naval slang origin.

While it is frequently stated that the phrase is derived from, this latter term is only attested from 1695, and hence this idiom presumably derived from literally swinging a cat around, as by the tail.

Noun

 * 1)  Very little space (available).
 * 2) * 1665, Richard Kephale Medela Pestilentiae
 * They had not space enough (according to the vulgar saying) to swing a Cat in.

Usage notes
By extension from the idea of confined space, the idiom that one can't swing a cat without hitting an X conveys that the relevant context is lousy with X. Thus, the statement that you can't swing a cat without hitting a fool around here conveys that fools are (superfluously) plentiful around here.

Translations

 * Hungarian: egy gombostűt se lehetett volna leejteni
 * Japanese:
 * Russian:
 * Ukrainian: го́лці ні́де впа́сти, я́блуку ні́де впа́сти
 * Welsh: does dim lle i chwipio chwannen