Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"You know you're in a bear market when people are losing money but feeling pretty good about it. -- Wall Street Adage" has been on the "Food for thought" section on the…
A popular jazz adage has it that "it's the notes you don't play" that are as important as the ones that you do. Jazz great Miles Davis (1926-1991) is often credited with the…
A "petrodollar" (petroleum + dollar) is a United States dollar earned by a country (such as an OPEC country) in the sale of its petroleum exports to another country. Georgetown University…
A cartoon in The New Yorker on November 5, 1990, by Leo Cullum (1942-2010), had a banker explain to his clients: "Your money was working for you, but it suddenly quit and now it's working…
"You can't evict an idea" was a slogan used by the Occupy Wall Street movement in November 2011; although the occupiers were evicted, their ideas were to remain. "You can't…
H-E-B is a large supermarket chain in Texas and northern Mexico. H-E-B food trucks can be seen on the major highways (such as I-35), with the slogan "Follow me to freshness" on the back.…
Toots Shor (1903-1977) ran a restaurant/saloon that was popular with New York City sports and entertainment figures. In February 1945, the city started a midnight curfew for serving drinks. Shor…
A Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a small company often must do many tasks. The nickname "Chief Everything Officer" has been cited in print since at least 1998. A 2006 book was titled:…
"Copper is the only commodity/metal with a Ph.D. in economics" is a Wall Street adage, resulting in the nickname "Dr. Copper." Copper is an important industrial metal. If…
"Chetestapant" (chef + contestant + participant) has been used on the popular website Eater.com (cited in print since at least June 17, 2010), always in reference to the Bravo network…
"High finance" means financial transactions that involve large sums of money. The term "high finance" has been cited in print since at least 1858, but began to be used with…
"Never work with children or animals" is an old show business adage. Children and animals can behave unpredictably on the stage or movie set. Once the movie is made, the audience always…
"Je vous dis merde" or "Merde" ("shit" in English) is a theatrical saying meaning "good luck." Superstitious thespians believe that it's bad luck to…
"Warvangelical" (war + evangelical) has been used by Laurence M. Vance on LewRockwell.com (a libertarian website) since July 25, 2007. The term "warvangelical" describes pro-war…
According to a popular adage, good theatre can be made with just "two boards and a passion." The saying is often also given as "three boards and a passion," "four boards…
The three act structure of drama has been described as: Act One -- get your hero character up a tree,Act Two -- throw stones/rocks at him, andAct Three -- get him down. The…
"Plays aren't written, they're rewritten" is an old theatre adage meaning that many changes are usually made during the rehearsal process, before the play officially opens. Dion…
"Dallasonian” is the name of an inhabitant of Dallas, Texas. The name “Dallasonian” has been cited in print since at least 1932, but has been very rarely used. An inhabitant of Dallas is…
"Improvise, adapt, (and) overcome" has become an unofficial motto of the United States Marine Corps and has also been used in business and in government. Clint Eastwood said these lines…
The "Second Avenue Subway cough" (also called "Second Avenue Subway Syndrome") is a health problem associated with the construction of Manhattan's Second Avenue Subway. The…