“Always be sincere, even if you don’t mean it”
"Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it" is often credited to Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) but there's no evidence that he ever said it. The earliest citations for the…
Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"Always be sincere, even if you don't mean it" is often credited to Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) but there's no evidence that he ever said it. The earliest citations for the…
"Fedury" (Federal Reserve + U.S. Department of the Treasury) is a financial nickname that has been infrequently used (mostly by ArkansasAngie or Angie Pratt). The portmanteau name has…
Jacob Riis (1849-1914) was a journalist/photographer famous for his book, How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York (1890). Riis attempted to expose the plight of the poor…
Quantitative easing (QE) is when a central bank (such as the Federal Reserve) pumps money into the economy by various financial transactions, usually to increase asset prices and to create a…
"Don't mourn -- organize" is a union slogan often said after the death of a union leader. Union worker and songwriter Joe Hill (1879-1915) was sentenced to death for a crime in Utah.…
"The best way to learn is to teach" is an old saying; a teacher who can explain a subject and answer all questions about it has effectively learned the material. "No maxim is more…
"Teamwork means never having to take all the blame (yourself)" is a jocular saying that has been printed on many gift items, such as T-shirts, bumper stickers and posters. The saying has…
"Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today" is a proverb that might be a thousand years old. The proverb has had many parodies. "Always put off until tomorrow what you can…
"Why do we drive on the parkway and park on the driveway?" is a jocular question that has been cited in print since at least 1974, when this was printed in the Washington (DC) Post on…
"Any time three/four New Yorkers get into a cab/taxi without an argument, a bank has just been robbed" is a joke showing that New Yorkers argue in the back of taxis. The joke has been…
"Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is a classic baseball song, written by Jack Norwoth and Albert Von Tilzer in 1908. "Why do we sing 'Take me out to the ball game' when we are…
"If peanut butter cookies are made from peanut butter, then what are Girl Scout cookies made out of?" is a joke that has been included in many collections of one-line saying. "If…
"If you run/jog backwards, will you gain weight?" is a jocular question that has been included on many lists on one-line sayings. "If you jog backwards, will you gain weight?"…
A "beeramid" is a "beer can pyramid" (although beer bottles are sometimes used). The bottles are usually stacked empties. The term "beer can pyramid" has been cited in…
"To err is human; to forgive, divine" was written by Alexander Pope (1688-1744) in "An Essay on Criticism" (1711). The line is famous and has many parodies. "To err is…
"If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" is a popular American poem verse from the 1830s. The verse has many joke endings that replace "try, try again." "If at…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: False flagFalse flag (also known as black flag) operations are covert operations designed to deceive in such a way that the operations appear as though they are…
A "punditocracy" is influence or rule (like an "aristocracy") by political pundits and pundettes. The term was used by political pundit Michael Kinsley in 1987, but was…
"The trouble with being punctual is that nobody's there to appreciate it" is a one-liner that has been attributed to Franklin P. Jones (1908-1980), a humorist who wrote many quips…
Norm Crosby, a comedian, told this joke on The Tonight Show in 1978: "There's so much lunacy in the world...look at courtrooms. Where else would you place yourself in the hands of 12…