Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"In grade school it's called bullying, but when you get older it's called upper level management" is a jocular one-line saying that has been printed on many gift items, such as…
A ferry is cheaper than a cruise ship. "A ferry is the poor man's cruise ship" has been said often, usually to describe either the Staten Island Ferry or the Alaska Marine Highway…
The term "star spangled flag" dates to 1805. Francis Scott Key (1779-1843) wrote a poem to the then-popular London tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven" that included the lyric: By…
New York City has infrequently been called the "City of Golden Dreams." "That city of golden dreams and gold bricks, New York, N. Y." was cited in print in 1908. "The City…
"The hay is in the barn" is a sports expression that means that preparations are over and the athlete (or team) is ready for the event. The expression first became popular among college…
"Once you go craft, you never go back" is a popular slogan of the craft beer movement. "Once you go craft, you never go back" was cited on Twitter on December 18, 2009. "I…
"Whiskey is the hand sanitizer for the soul" was posted on Twitter by GirlonTapas on October 21, 2014. The jocular one-line saying quickly became the subject of many tweets.…
"Having fruit salad for dinner. Well, its mostly grapes actually. Ok, all grapes. Fermented grapes. Im having wine for dinner" was cited on Twitter on January 19, 2013, based on an ecard.…
"Fat" looks like the word "Eat." "The word 'Fat' is only one dash away from the word 'Eat'" was cited on Twitter on August 16, 2009. "The word…
"Never walk the leadoff hitter/man" is an old baseball adage. You don't give the batter a free pass to first base -- rather, throw a strike and give the fielders an opportunity to…
The term "donor maintenance" became news during the Presidential administration of Bill Clinton. Bob Woodward wrote in the Washington (DC) Post on March 2, 1997: "While Clinton…
"You can play baseball, you can play basketball, you can play football, but you can't/don't play boxing," boxers frequently say. The expression implies that boxing is a much…
"Lightning never strikes twice in the same place" is an old proverb. "Lightning may never strike twice in the same place, but tornadoes do" is an extension of the proverb that…
"Lightning never strikes twice in the same place" is more a statement of mathematical odds than one of scientific certainty. There are many exceptions to the rule. For example, lightning…
What's a losing sports team to do? "You can't fire 25 players, so you fire the manager," a popular theory holds. "But when a club isn't winning it is always easy to…
"You can't fire me -- I quit!" is what an employee often says to a boss, either immediately before a potential firing or after an actual firing. The expression became popular in the…
A "tax donkey" or "tax mule" is the average taxpayer, who works to support a government and gets very little back in the form of any representation or benefits. Charles Hugh…
"You're never more than two weeks away from a drought" is an adage used in many parts of the United States. "We are never more than two weeks away from a drought in this area…
"Hitting is contagious" is an old baseball adage that has been cited in print since 1907, but appears to have become popular in the 1930s. When one or two members of the team start…
"Ice skating is just walking in cursive" is a jocular one-line saying that was cited on reddit on December 3, 2014. The line has been popular on Twitter. redditIce skating is just walking…