Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
New York City in the 1960s and 1970s was crime-ridden; there were constant stories about tourists being mugged in and around Central Park. A joke from 1971 has a shady person approaching a tourist…
The musician Frank Zappa (1940-1993) often spoke about politics, usually in defense of Constitutional first amendment protections of the freedom of speech and expression. In The Real Frank Zappa…
"Today's gossip is tomorrow's headline" is what gossip columnist Liz Smith frequently credited (since the 1970s) to earlier gossip columnist Walter Winchell (1887-1972).…
Liz Smith (1923-2017) began a gossip column in the New York (NY) Daily News on February 16, 1976; she made frequent appearances on NBC's Live at Five and other television shows, and she also…
"Country music is three chords and the truth" (or "Country music ain't nothing but three chords and the truth") has been credited to country music songwriter Harlan Howard…
"Education is the path from cocky ignorance to miserable uncertainty" has been credited to Mark Twain (the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemons, 1835-1910), but there's no evidence…
The Roseland Ballroom was originally located at Broadway and 51st Street when it opened in 1919; in 1956, Roseland moved to its current location at West 53rd Street, just off Broadway. Roseland has…
"Money talks” (meaning that money has influence) is an old financial saying, cited in print in various forms from before 1700. "Money talks" was printed in several American…
Film actor, writer and director Woody Allen had his character "Clifford Stern" speak this line in the film Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989): "My love life is terrible. The last time I…
"Men are like bank accounts -- without a lot of money, they don't generate much interest" is a humorous one-line saying that has been printed on many gift items, such as posters,…
Billy Sunday (1862-1935) was a popular American evangelist. Someone once commented to him that his conversions don't last. Sunday replied ( a version is cited in print in 1917), "Of…
Many people get fat when they are in their forties. "Fat, fair and forty" is a British satirical print from 1786. "Did you ever notice: The Roman Numerals for forty (40) are…
Grantland Rice (1880-1954) wrote, "For when the One Great Scorer comes to write against your name; He marks -- not that you won or lost -- but how you played the Game." "It's…
"Golf is a game in which you yell 'fore,' shoot six, and write down five" is a jocular one-line saying that has been included in many golf books and articles. "Golfer: One…
"Dark money" consists of political contributions from sources that aren't revealed before voters go to the polls. The "money" is"dark" because the public…
"No one wants to quit when he's losing and no one wants to quit when he's winning" is a sports philosophy taken from poker (gambling). No one wants to leave a game while at a…
"The trouble/problem with unemployment is that you never get a day off" (or "The trouble with being unemployed is that you never get a day off") is a jocular line that was…
"The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off" is a jocular statement that's usually credited to basketball coach Abe Lemons (1922-2002). Lemons said the quote in…
"Drunk as a skunk" means to be highly inebriated. Skunks aren't particularly known for drinking; the saying exists because of the rhyme. "Drunk as a skunk" has been cited…
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes employment statistics every month, but BLS critics have claimed that it often uses methods (such as not counting people who have given up looking for…