Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
A bowling riddle has been cited in print since at least 1984: Q: Why did the bowling pins lie down? A: Because they were on strike. A slightly different version was printed in 1997: Q: Why did the…
The etymology of "Big Apple" was used on the television game show Jeopardy! as a "Final Jeopardy!" question on July 1, 2009. The answer:"A 19th century gambling term…
"Guns don't kill people -- people kill people" has been a popular pro-gun slogan since 1959. A variation involving marital infidelity has been cited in print since 1984, when it was…
To go somewhere "by way of Canarsie (Brooklyn)" is to go out of the way, or in a roundabout way. New York (NY) Post columnist Leonard Lyons (1906-1976) wrote in "The Lyons Dens"…
The origin of "Big Apple" was explained in the 2010 Canadian comedy-drama film Barney's Version, with a screenplay by Michael Konyves. This dialogue does not appear in the novel…
A fishing riddle is: Q: What's the best way to catch a fish?A: Have someone throw it to you. The riddle was printed in many American newspapers in 1965. 27 June 1965, Indianapolis (IN) Star,…
Canarsie, Brooklyn, is sometimes called "Floss" or "Flossy." The name comes from the rap song "Brooklyn" (2007) by Fabolous, which contains the lyrics "Canarsie…
"I just changed my Facebook password to ‘14 days’ but it said it was ‘Too weak’" --"14 days" is two weeks -- is a pun that was posted on Twitter on November 20, 2010.…
Is old ravioli called "ravioldi"? "My Bro Said (Ravioldi!)" was posted on Twitter on February 8, 2012. A riddle was posted on Reddit -- Jokes on November 14, 2017: Q: What do…
The word "potato" is sometimes combined with "tattoo" to form the portmanteau "potattoo." "What vegetable do you mark your skin with? Potattoos #weakjoke"…
The Provincetown players mounted playwright Eugene O'Neill's Bound East for Cardiff, first at a theater on a wharf in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and then in Greenwich Village in New…
The Huffington Post (now HuffPost) was started on May 9, 2005, by Arianna Huffington and others; the website features liberal/progressive news and opinion. The unflattering nickname of…
"English Terrace Row" (or "Renwick Row") in Manhattan is located on West 10th Street, between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue (Avenue of the Americas). The row of houses was…
New York City has long been known for destroying old buildings and replacing them with new ones. Harper's New Monthly Magazine's "Editor's Easy Chair" wrote in July 1856:…
An "apartment" is called a "flat" in the United Kingdom. A riddle is: Q: What do you get if you cross a trout with an apartment?A: A flat fish. The joke has been cited in print…
"Chess players mate better" is a popular chess saying that has been printed in many images. The saying -- a pun on the term "checkmate" -- has been put on bumper stickers and…
"Prostitution is a hole sale business" is a pun on the term "wholesale." The one-line saying was posted (along with similar sayings) on the newsgroup NAFL on September 23, 2005.…
A joke comparing a crashed computer to a crashed car -- and rubbernecking delays -- was posted on Twitter on August 5, 2013: "My computer crashed and now all the other computers have slowed…
"Naan" sounds like "non" and has been used in several "naan conformist" puns. "One of said friends was pigging out on the Indian bread, so I immediately accused…
"Got herbs in my eyes cooking last nite, now I'm parsley sighted" was posted on Twitter on March 4, 2011. "Whilst preparing dinner last night I accidentally got some herbs in my…