Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"Amateurs open the market, but professionals close it" is a stock market adage that's been cited in print since at least 1993. Amateurs submit their trading orders in the morning…
"Volume is validity" means that a high volume indicates (or validates) if people are bullish or bearish on a stock -- they buy it or sell it in droves. The saying "volume is…
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romeny released his tax returns in January 2012, revealing that some money was invested overseas. Democratic pollster Celinda Lake called the offshore…
"Buy 'em when they're sleepin', hold 'em when they're creepin', sell 'em when they're leapin'" is a rhyming investment strategy to buy an…
"Lose your opinion, not your money" (or, "Give up an opinion before you give up your money") means that one shouldn't hold fast to a money-losing point of view. The saying…
"An investment portfolio is like a bar of soap: The more you touch/handle it, the smaller it gets" is an investment adage. The saying has been cited in print since at least 1995. 7…
A "destination restaurant" is a restaurant that people who don't live in the neighborhood go out of their way to dine at. A "destination bartender" is a bartender so good…
"Foodisphere" (meaning "the food world" or "the food community") has been infrequently cited in print since at least 2004. Chow.com I think the point was to trust your…
"Comedy is a serious business" has been attributed to the actor David Garrick (1717-1779), but cited in print from only 1894. Garrick allegedly said that tragedy was much easier to play.…
"A Marine on duty has no friends" is a proverb of the United States Marine Corps, cited in print since at least 1973. The saying means that a Marine has a duty to serve the country, even…
It's often considered, in the theater and elsewhere, to be bad luck to wish someone "good luck." Instead, some people say, "Break a leg!" This appears to be from the German…
Entry in progress -- B.P. "Mind your business" was called an "Eleventh Commandment" in the early 1800s. Wikipedia: Fugio centOn April 21, 1787, the Continental Congress of the…
"The odds are good that you will be laid up long before you are laid out!" has been cited in print since at least June 2010, listed in a frequently reprinted article titled…
"Stick to your knitting" means that one should concentrate (especially in business) on what one does best. The American saying "stick to your knitting" has been cited in print…
"Where there's a hit, there's a writ" means that when one is successful in show business (for example, with a hit song), a lawsuit for some of the profits is sure to follow. The…
George Higgins Moses (1869-1944), a senator from New Hampshire, spoke at a Washington dinner of New England manufacturers in November 1929 and described some insurgent Republican senators as…
Playwrights and screenwriters are often cautioned against sending a political message in their dramatic scripts; the public wants entertainment, not a lecture. "Not one of those…
"Acting is reacting" is an old acting adage. The actor must react to what the other actors say and do, or to the conditions. The saying has been used both on the stage and in movies. The…
Both Republicans and Democrats used to hold many tent meetings; the terms "Republican tent" and "Democratic tent" were used metaphorically to represent the party and its…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Chickenhawk (politics)Chickenhawk (also chicken hawk and chicken-hawk) is a political epithet used in the United States to criticize a politician, bureaucrat,…