Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
American professional golfer Sam Snead (1912-2002) gave this advice to golf widows in September 1974: "When your husband comes home with cockleburrs in the cuffs of his pants, don't ask…
"The golf swing starts from the ground up" is an old golf saying. "Swing Production: The golf swing begins as of the earth. It starts from the ground, and is from the ground up"…
"Don't believe everything you read in the papers" means that one should evaluate something by one's self and not just accept what is written. "And do you believe everything…
"Too good to check" means that a sensationalist story has come from one source, and the urge is to publish the story and to credit that source -- it's "too good to check"…
Retailers know that consumers love free stuff. "If it's free, it's for me" is a popular consumer saying. "If it's free, it's for me" has been cited in print…
NFL officials' uniforms and NHL officials' uniforms have black-and-white-striped shirts, like a zebra's stripes. The officials wearing such shirts are often nicknamed…
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) began in the 1970s and is usually held annually in March. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in February 2009: "Some people…
'Personnel is policy" is a saying used to describe the personnel that a new executive puts in place. The saying became popular in 1981, after Ronald Reagan's presidential victory and…
An old Washington joke is that "every senator looks in the mirror and sees a president." Senator Albert Gore, Sr. wrote in The Eye of the Storm: A People's Politics for the Seventies…
"We may not always win the game, but we always win the party" is a popular saying, used by both a team's fans and even the players. Though a favored team might lose, the fans are…
"The woods are full of long hitters/drivers" is a golf saying; golfers who can hit long often can't hit straight and send the ball off the course and into the woods. The saying has…
A supposed tale of the old West involves a captured horse thief. The crowd wants to hang him. "No, we can't do that," one member of the crowd says. 'We'll give him a fair…
"The first duty of wine is to be red" is a French saying from the early 1800s, when red wines were strongly preferred over white wines. "Le premier devoir du vin est d'être…
Midas (The Muffler Installation Dealers' Associated Service) is an automotive service center that specializes in mufflers (and was originally called "Midas Muffler"), but now also…
For an airplane or a helicopter to "land on a postage stamp" is to land in a small area. New York's LaGuardia Airport has been said to be a postage-stamp sized airport. Landing on an…
The New York Times was purchased by Adolph Ochs (1858-1935) in 1896. On August 18, 1896, Ochs wrote: "It will be my earnest aim that The New-York Times give the news, all the news, in concise…
Law school normally lasts for three years, but some have argued that the third year is not necessary. An old law school saying is that they "scare you to death" in the first year,…
Music and sports intersected so often in the late 1990s and early 2000s that it was often said that "ballers want to be rappers, and rappers want to be ballers." The term…
"Politics is a contact sport" means that politics is rough business, like the sport of boxing. Japanese politics was called a "contact sport" in June 1960. "Politics is a…
"Religion is for people who fear hell, and spirituality is for people who have gone through hell (and don't want to go back)" is a saying that has been used by many 12-steps…