Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"If having sex for money makes you a hoe, does having sex for free make you a nonprofit organization ⁉️ #askingforafriend" was posted on Twitter by That Boy Shaud on April 18, 2017.…
"Dough knots" sounds a little like "donuts." "Pretzels are dough knots" was posted on Twitter by "gage" on May 12, 2016. "Most pretzels are dough…
"I've combined alphabet soup and a laxative. I call it 'Letter Rip!'" was posted on Twitter by The Daily, Awful Pun (by Andy White) on April 26, 2011. "I've…
"War is when the government tells you who the bad guy is. Revolution is when you decide that for yourself" (or "War is when the/your government tells you who the enemy is. Revolution…
"Ballot harvesting" refers to collecting absentee ballots. The "harvesting" system is legal in some states and legal in others. Political operatives go into neighborhoods,…
"Conspiracy Theorist: Nothing more than a derogatory title used to dismiss a critical thinker" is a saying that has been printed on several images. The saying was first posted on Twitter…
A joke about the funeral parlor business was posted on the website Pun of the Day in January 2009: "Opening a new funeral parlor can be quite an undertaking." Pun of the DayGreat One…
The expression "I'm sold" is usually not taken literally, but there are puns. This was posted on Reddit -- Jokes on December 13, 2017: "I wasn’t sure about getting involved in…
A joke about college rejection letters was posted on Twitter by "the name is Les" on November 18, 2018: "I got a rejection letter from the origami university today, I’m not sure…
Many men have fantasies about sexy nurses, but a joke puts a twist on this. "My wife asked me what my biggest fantasy was. I told her for her to dress like a sexy nurse and tell me I have…
The building called 432 Park Avenue, at 56th Street in Manhattan, was completed in 2015 and immediately became the tallest residential building in the world. The 432 Park Avenue building has had a…
The term "Lung Block" described an area of the Lower East Side in the early 1900s where there were high instances of tuberculosis. The name was probably coined by Ernest Poole for the…
"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A version involving the Swedish pop group ABBA was posted on Twitter by "Oh, THAT…
Is going to school like being unemployed? "Being a student at university is just like being unemployed, except your parents are actually proud of you for it" was posted on Twitter by…
The political term "medicated majority" was coined by this article by S. D. Wells on the Natural News website on November 26, 2018: "The Medicated Majority – Democratic leadership…
Broadway is known for its bright lights, and has been called the "Bulb Belt," "Great Bright Way," "Great White Way," "Incandescent District," "Lane of…
The "bird circuit" of gay bars existed in Manhattan, along Third Avenue around the lower East 50s, after World War II. The bars had such names as the Blue Parrot (on East 53rd Street),…
Greenwich Village's gay community has been well known since at least the early 1900s. The Village has been called the home of "long-haired men" (gays) and "short-haired…
The term "gay set" originally meant people who like the nightlife scene. "Gay set in Paris" was cited in an 1893 newspaper article titled "French Society; American Women…
"Trail mix" shouldn't be confused with "entrail mix," but there are jokes. "What's the Devil Fish's favorite mid-afternoon snack? ENTRAIL MIX!" was…