“The calendar’s days are numbered” is a jocular one-line saying that has been cited in print since at least 1899. “Every calendar’s days are numbered” was included in a popular internet list of puns in 2003. It’s likely that the 2003 author did not know about the 1899 cite and simply re-invented the pun.
6 May 1899, Millville (NJ) Evening News, pg. 1, col. 5:
The calendar’s days are numbered.
Chronicling America
21 December 1899, The Columbian (Bloomsburg, PA), pg. 10, col. 5:
The ‘99 calendar’s days are numbered.
15 October 1901, Charlotte (NC) News, pg. 7, col. 4:
The calendar’s days are numbered.
Google Groups: alt.gathering.rainbow
Some fishy definitions…just for the halibut….
mt ;^}
5/23/03
FOR ALL YOU LEXOPHILES, courtesy of a truly twisted friend of mine..
(...)
17. Every calendar’s days are numbered.
Google Groups: soc.retirement
Pun?
jim stevens
6/25/03
(...)
Every calendar’s days are numbered.
Google News Archive
1 May 2003, Philippine Daily Enquirer (Philippines), “On the Road” by Aida Sevilla-Mendoza, pg. B10, col. 5:
TODAY’S BUMPER STICKER: Every calendar’s days are numbered.
Google Books
E-Mail Humor
By Louis G. Morton
Victoria, BC: Trafford Publishing
2005
Pg. 6:
Every calendar’s days are numbered.
Google Books
My Little Bit of Nonsense
By Charlie Walker
Wakefield: Published by author
2008
Pg. 21:
Every calendar’s days are numbered.
Google Books
Blonde Walks into a Bar:
The 4,000 Most Hilarious, Gut-Busting Gags, One-Liners and Jokes
By Jonathan Swan
Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press
2008
Pg. ?:
A calendar’s days are numbered.
Google Books
Once Apun A Time:
A Rich, Historical and Sometimes Earthy Collection of Puns
By Robin Leech
Victoria, BC: FriesenPress
2015
Pg. 25:
Every calendar’s days are numbered.
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
Recent entries:
•“I read old books because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
•“I study old buildings because I would rather learn from those who built civilization than those who tore it down” (4/18)
•“Due to personal reasons, I’m still going to be fluffy this summer” (4/18)
•“Do not honk at me. My life is worthless. I will kill us both” (bumper sticker) (4/18)
•Entry in progress—BP16 (4/18)
More new entries...
Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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