Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
One coach (especially a football coach) often compliments another coach, saying that the coach can take his players and beat your players or take your players and beat his players. The success came…
Bagels and donuts both have holes in them -- what if they could be combined? "Bagnut" and "doughngel" were cited in print in 2003. "Dogel" was cited in print in 2008.…
Marijuana was legalized in the state of Washington, and Mirth Provisions ("Legal" beverages) of Longview, Washington, introduced marijuana-infused coffee in 2014. "We call it the…
The Star Wars science fiction movies featured the Death Star -- a fictional space station capable of destroying a planet with its laser weaponry. In early 2009, a graphic poster was made of the…
Dairy Queen (DQ) opened its first Manhattan restaurant in May 2014. Dairy Queen first introduced its Blizzard dessert (soft serve ice cream with mixed-in extras) in 1985. To celebrate the Manhattan…
Victor J. Stenger, an American particle physicist and religious skeptic, wrote in The New Atheism:Taking a Stand for Science and Reason (2009): "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us…
Political commentator David Frum posted on Twitter on August 10, 2010: "More proof of my longtime thesis, Repub pols fear the GOP base; Dem pols hate the Dem base." The saying is usually…
Presstea (167 Seventh Avenue South in Manhattan) introduced the "ramenrrito" (ramen noodles + burrito) in 2013. The name "ramenrrito" was trademarked with a first use in…
An entertainment hit could make any performer an "overnight success," but the performer usually had struggled many years to achieve that success. "It takes 10/20 years to become an…
A "knork" (pronounced "nork") is a combination of a "knife" and a "fork." The utensil name "knork" has been cited in print since at least 1987 and…
"Leadership is not driving the train, it's laying the track" is an adage about leadership that became popular in 2013-14. "Always remember you're not driving the train.…
"Bad traders don't make profits — they only take out short-term loans from the market" is a Wall Street saying, meaning that a bad trader will give bad any profits in short order.…
"Mom wine" (or "mommy wine") is any wine that is consumed by mothers. The term became popularized in April and May 2011, when MommyJuice and Mommy's Time Out had a…
George Washington (1732-1799) is often credited with saying: "When a nation mistrusts its citizens with guns it is it sending a clear message. It no longer trusts its citizens because such a…
"Any writing problem is a reporting problem" is a journalism adage. If a reporter is having a problem writing a story, it's probably because of inadequate reporting (not enough…
"Gourmaise" (gourmet + mayonnaise) has been used as the name of several trademarked products. McCormick & Co. had a trademark (now expired) on "Gourmaise" in 1971.…
P.S. 106 in Far Rockaway, Queens,holds classes for students through grade six. The New York (NY) Post dubbed PS 106 the "School of No" because it had no books, no gym classes and no art…
Water usually follows gravity and flows downhill. "Water flows uphill to/toward/towards money" is a jocular saying popular where water is scarce, such as in California, Arizona and Texas.…
"Put the biscuit in the basket" is hockey slang that means to put the puck ("biscuit") in the net ("basket") -- to score a goal. "Put that old biscuit in the…
"Meteoronomics" (meteorology + economics) is when the weather influences economic activity. For example, a hurricane could cause economic losses. On May 29, 2014, USA TODAY tweeted:…