Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
Many people have a new year's resolution to lose weight, but they don't keep it. Others apply reverse psychology. "My resolution every year was to slim down and it always fail! How…
The "bush leagues" in baseball don't necessarily have bushes, but there's a riddle: Q: Where does a gorilla play baseball?A: In the bush leagues. The joke has been cited in…
There are parking meters for cars. Will there be parking meteors for spaceships? "With space travel becoming so popular, a bar-fly at the Grinzing comes out with a sensible suggestion for a…
Mitochondrion ("mitochondria" is the plural) is known as the powerhouse of the cell. There have been several jokes about "prison" cells. "If I ever go to jail I'm gna…
A "joke" has it that law enforcement officers beat up a suspect, then lie about it: Q: How many cops does it take to throw a black guy down the stairs?A: None. He fell. "Q: How many…
Some people believe that carrot cake is healthier than other cakes because carrots are vegetables. Also, the word "carrot" has more letters than the word "cake." Dave Hughes…
If an astronomer watches the night skies, does that make him a night watchman? A riddle has been cited in print since at least 1986: Q: What is an astronomer?A: A night watchman with a college…
Earphones tend to get tied into knots. An knock-knock joke is: "Knot knot.""Who is there?""Earphones." The joke was posted on Twitter by Humourologist on September…
Many newspapers have a "help wanted" section. Kelp isn't that wanted, but there's a riddle: Q: Where does seaweed go to look for a job?A: The "Kelp Wanted" section of…
"In God we trust” was the motto of a Philadelphia regiment in 1748. Francis Scott Key’s “Star Spangled Banner” (1814) contains the words “In God is our trust.” The association of…
"There was a recent study that tried to pinpoint the effect that alcohol has on walking... the result was staggering" is a jocular one-line saying that was posted on Twitter by…
A "Great Dane" is a dog; a "danish" is a pastry. "What do you get when you cross wonderful baking skills and a very large dog? A great danish" was posted on Twitter on…
A "selfieccino" (selfie + cappuccino) is a "selfie" image made on top of a cappuccino (or other coffee). "#selfieccino" was posted on Twitter on April 7, 2014. The…
A "porcupine" (a mammal) has nothing to do with a "poor queue," but there have been puns. "A prickly tree standing in line with other trees waiting for a handout during the…
"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." An anti-joke version is: "A janitor, a waitress, and a bartender walk into a bar. Then…
"Lechislator" (lecher/lecherous + legislator) and "lechislature" (lecher/lecherous + legislature) are portmanteau words that have been infrequently used. "LECHISLATOR:…
A saying about water was posted on Twitter by "i'm caleb" on May 25, 2016: "I love how all these so-called 'vegans' still drink water. That's a fish's house…
“Nice place you got here. Be a shame if anything happened to it” is gangster talk from at least the 1920s. The speaker wants to extort money from the establishment. "That's a nice ham…
"Resolution" is sometimes mis-typed as "revolution." "My new year's revolution is to proofread my tweets more carefully" was posted on Twitter on December 27,…
American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer Adelaide Hall (1901-1993) and her husband, Bertram Hicks, opened a nightclub called La Grosse Pomme (French for "The Big Apple") in…