Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"The more you weigh, the harder you are to kidnap. Stay safe -- eat cake!" is something that many eateries have written on blackboards. "The heavier you are, the harder you are to…
"Wholetail" (wholesale + retail) is a sale of products or services to an end user at wholesale (or near wholesale) prices. "Wholetail" has been cited in print since at least…
"Faithwashing" (faith + whitewashing) is when someone uses faith as a justification to whitewash his or her objectionable actions. "Oooh. 'faithwashing' (I like that)"…
American author and organizational consultant Warren G. Bennis (1925-2014) wrote in On Becoming a Leader (1989): "The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader's…
"Schizophrenia beats dining alone" is a joke that has been credited to American composer Oscar Levant (1906-1972) since at least 2000, but there's no documentary evidence that he…
"Giving Tuesday" (the Tuesday after Thanksiving) was founded by Manhattan's 92nd Street Y in 2012, similar to days such as Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. In…
Paul Tudor Jones II, the founder of Tudor Investment Corporation, said in Jack D. Schwager's Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders (1989): "I always believe that prices move first…
"If you want to have rabbit stew, first catch the rabbit" (or, "first catch your hare") is an old saying of uncertain origins. The proverb was almost certainly infuenced from…
American author and organizational consultant Warren Bennis (1925-2014) said, as quoted in The Millionaire's Book of Quotations (1991) by Mark Fisher: "The factory of the future will have…
The "Idaho stop" allows cyclists to treat a red light like a stop sign, and a stop sign like a yield sign. The law was developed in 1982 by Carl Bianchi, then the Administrative Director…
Women often break the "glass ceiling" to get a job. However, when women get an executive job, they often face a "glass cliff." As explained in "Introducing... the glass…
Southern California doesn't have the four seasons, but many residents joke that it does have four seasons: eathquake, fire, flood and drought. The joke has been cited in print since at least…
"Why are poets poor? Because rhyme doesn't pay," an old joke has it, punning on "crime doesn't pay." "Afterthought: Who said rhyme doesn't pay?" was…
Male-to-female ratios are disproportionate at some schools (such as engineering schools or former women's colleges), but heterosexual students note that a large proportion of geeks and gays…
“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, and small minds discuss people” is an old saying. New York-based author Fran Lebowitz changed this saying a bit in Social Studies…
A popular show business saying is that an agent owns a piece of his or her client. The following joke was cited in 1948: "We pass along Edith Gwynn's Hollywood Reporter quote of Van…
"Liberty Enlightening the World" is the official name, but "Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World" was so frequently used that the famous statue in New York harbor is now…
An equestrian statue of King George II (1738-1820) was erected in Manhattan's Bowling Green in August 1770. A fence placed there in 1771 can still be seen today. Following the first reading in…
A popular joke is told about the Texas two-step: "My best friend became addicted to country line dancing. It got so bad he had to enter a two-step program." Versions of the joke date to…
"Alma Mater" is a famous sculpture at Columbia University, installed in 1904 in front of the Low Memorial Library (formerly the campus library building). The sculptor Daniel Chester…