“You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here” (bar saying at closing time)
"You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here" is what a bar manager might say to his last remaining customers at closing time. "In the old days, the cry in the…
“Editors choose their stories, but sometimes stories choose their editors”
Author Salmon Rushdie said in 1990, "Books choose their authors; the act of creation is not entirely a rational and conscious one." The quotation has been frequently cited in books and in…
Baby Raddle/Rattle (chocolate and rainbow sprinkles)
Mister Softee ice cream trucks feature "Baby Raddle" -- a soft-serve vanilla ice cream cone with half chocolate sprinkles and half rainbow sprinkles. The Big Gay Ice Cream truck offers a…
“It is more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow”
"It is more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow" is a popular automotive adage. It's more exciting to see a car overachieve (a slow car going fast) than it is to see…
“Win on Sunday, sell on Monday” (auto racing adage)
"Win on Sunday, sell on Monday" is an auto racing adage. The races are usually held on Sunday; an automobile company that had a winning car on Sunday was said to have had increased sales…
“Maintenance doesn’t cost—it pays”
"Maintenance doesn't cost -- it pays!" is a saying in many businesses. If machinery isn't properly maintained, the cost to repair it is often greater than it would have been if…
Bartoonist (bar + cartoonist)
Bill Roundy is a cartoonist who reviews bars and draws them on his Bar Scrawl blog. Roundy is on Twitter @bartoonist (bar + cartoonist). The Brooklyn Paper (brooklyn, NY) publishes many of his…
Healthing (health + helping)
Lysol (known for its cleaning products) began an advertising campaign that portrayed their products as "healthing" (health + helping). Lysol trademarked "healthing" on January…
“You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide”
"If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear" (or, "You have nothing to fear if you have nothing to hide") is a statement frequently given by someone who wants to…
Grasshopper Pie; Grasshopper Ice Cream Sandwich
The "Grasshopper Cocktail" from 1950 (1/3 creme de menthe, 1/3 creme de cacao, 1/3 cream) helped give birth to the "grasshopper pie." The name comes from the green color, just…
Grasshopper (cocktail)
The Grasshopper cocktail is made with one-third crème de menthe (providing the green color, like the color of a grasshopper), one-third drème de cacao and one-third cream. The cocktail has been…
Feral Reserve (Federal Reserve nickname)
The Federal Reserve System was created in 1913; the Federal Reserve Bank issues Federal Reserve Notes (dollars) -- the currency of the United States. Some critics of the Federal Reserve have dubbed…
Turnkey Tyranny
Edward Snowden, an American technical contractor, revealed information about a classified National Security Agency (NSA) spy program to The Guardian newspaper in June 2013. Snowden believed that…
“We’re all here because we’re not all there” (recovery program joke)
An old joke has a famous psychiatrist addressing the inmates of a mental institution. "Do we all know why we're here?" the psychiatrist asks. "Yessir," one inmate replies.…
HALT (Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired)
"HALT" stands for "Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired" and is used in many Alcoholics Anonymous programs. If a person is feeling one of these HALT symptoms, that person is likely to…
Son Of a Bitch, Everything’s Real (“sober” backronym)
"S.O.B.E.R. = Son Of A Bitch, Everything's Real" was published in the book Stepping Stones to Recovery for Young People: Experience the Miracle of 12 Step Recovery (1991), edited by…
Flying Waiter (food delivery helicopter)
YO! Sushi (in the United Kingdom) introduced in June 2013 the iTray -- a quadcopter, controlled by an iPad, to deliver food to customers. The iTray was dubbed "The world's first flying…
United Stasi of America (“USA” backronym)
The East German Ministry for State Security (Stasi) was one of the world's most effective intelligence and police agencies; it spied on its own citizens as well as foreign enemies of the…
Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (“Bible” backronym)
"Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth" is a backronym (back acronym) for the word "BIBLE." The backronym has been cited in print since at least August 1992, when a jail…
“Democracy is not a spectator sport”
"Democracy is not a spectator sport" is a saying that is often used in politics to encourage people to participate, whether by voting, by donating money, or by other means. The saying was…