Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"Fighters don't retire from the ring; the ring retires fighters" is a boxing adage popularized by Bernard Hopkins, Jr., also called "The Executioner." Hopkins became the…
"Statistics are for losers" means that the only statistic that matters is if a team won or lost -- not individual statistics, such as how many yards a player gained or how many points a…
"Statistics are like a Bikini bathing suit. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital" was said by economist (and later Baruch College professor) Aaron Levenstein,…
"If you can't beat them, join them" is a proverb that was popular in the early 20th century. A hockey variant (showing hockey's violence) is, "if you can't beat them,…
Joe Jacobs (1896-1940), the manager of boxer Max Schmeling (who had just lost a decision to Jack Sharkey at Madison Square Garden on June 21, 1932), grabbed a microphone and told the world,…
Radio listeners and television viewers are often told to "stay tuned (to this station)" for the next program or for breaking news reports. The used of "stay tuned" dates to the…
"Don't touch that dial!" is said going into a radio or television commercial (or the next show), telling the listener or viewer to stay tuned to the station. "Ah-ah-ah!…
A saying in agriculture is "Kill the root and the head (of the plant) will die." In boxing, a saying is "Kill the body and the head will die." That is, punch the other fighter…
"Styles make fights" is a boxing adage that dates to at least a March 1938 newspaper story by syndicated sportswriter Grantland Rice, describing the styles of heavyweights Joe Louis and…
"There's boxing and then there's heavyweight boxing" is a boxing adage meaning that boxing purists will watch boxing at any level, but that the general public is only interested…
"Skate to where the puck's going to be, not to where it has been" is advice that Walter Gretzky said (in January 1982) that he gave to his son, hockey great Wayne Gretzky. In 1983,…
In December 1982, Buffalo Sabres center Gil Perreault named the three most important aspects of pro hockey: "Forecheck, backcheck, paycheck." Perreault's remark became a classical…
"Football/Soccer is a gentleman's game played by ruffians/hooligans; rugby is a ruffian's/hooligan's game played by gentlemen" is a sports saying, cited in print since at…
Both rugby and hockey are violent games. The saying "Give Blood -- Play Rugby" was put on bumper stickers in 1975. The saying "Give Blood -- Play Hockey" has been on bumper…
Fighting has long been a part of ice hockey. Comedian Rodney Dangerfield (1921-2004) -- who founded Dangerfield's comedy club in Manhattan -- made a popular joke about it in July 1978: "I…
"Seedelicious" or "seedalicious" or "seedilicious" (seed + delicious) is a multiseed product sold by HEB supermarkets and others. The name "seedilicious" has…
"Seeduction" (seed + seduction) is a multiseed bread sold by Whole Foods. The name "seeduction" is trademarked with a first use date given as December 31, 2000. A similar,…
A "tom turkey" (occasionally given as "thomas turkey") is a male turkey. "Tom" has been used for the male of a species since the anonymous work The Life and Adventures…
"Name that party" is a conservative argument to identify liberal bias in the mainstream media. Whenever there's a Republican scandal, the "Republican" political…
"Keep your head on a swivel" means to look around and to be aware. The saying was popular with air force pilots in World War II and has been cited in print since at least 1943. In sports,…