Aunt Sammy (sister of Uncle Sam)
“Aunt Sammy” was a radio character created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics in 1926 to educate homemakers. The show was renamed…
Shopdropping (reverse shoplifting)
"Shopdropping" (also called "reverse shopping") is when someone adds a product to a store. Although any sale of the product not in a store's computer system generally…
“Three kinds of economists” (joke)
The old economics joke goes: "There are three kinds of economists: Those who can add/count and those who can't." (Also, "Those who know how to add/count and those who…
Straw Poll (Straw Vote)
A "straw poll" (or "straw vote") is a vote on a candidate or issue; straws are not used tally the votes, but straws might originally have been used. The early straw votes were…
Cash on the Sidelines
"Cash/money on the sidelines" is like a football player "on the sidelines" (that is, not in the field of play). Cash might be kept "on the sidelines" to ride out a…
“If you don’t know jewelry, know your jeweler”
"Know Your Jeweler" has been a slogan since at least the early 1920s, and "Know Your Jeweler if You Don't Know Diamonds" has been cited in print since at least 1927. The…
Frozen Zone
A "frozen zone" is a high security area that is off limits ("frozen") to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. A "frozen zone" can be declared after a disaster (such as…
Bottom Dollar (“Bet your bottom dollar”)
"Bottom dollar" means one's very last dollar. To "bet your bottom dollar" means to bet even one's last dollar, such as the bottom dollar in a stack of dollars at a…
Top Dollar
To get "top dollar" on a used car or other item is to get the best price (the most money) for it -- a dollar amount that can't be topped. The term "top dollar" has been…
Lager Beer
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: LagerLager (German: storage) is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager…
Austin (summary)
The city of Austin was named after Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836), known as the "Father of Texas." A small village on the Colorado river was originally called Waterloo; it was selected as…
Houston (summary)
The city of Houston was founded by the brothers Augustus Chapman Allen (1806-1864) and John Kirby Allen (1810-1838). The "Town of Houston" was advertised in the August 30, 1836 Telegraph…
Little Ghana (Mount Hope, Bronx)
"Little Ghana" is a nickname for the Mount Hope (in Tremont) section of the Bronx. The nickname was popularly used in the media in June 2010, when the African nation of Ghana defeated the…
Little Albania
"Little Albania" is a name sometimes applied to the Belmont section of the Bronx (also known as "Little Italy"). This "Little Albania" has been cited in print since at…
“You don’t win friends with salad”
"You don't win friends with salad!" is what Homer Simpson and family danced in a conga line before vegetarian daughter Lisa on the animated television show The Simpsons ("Lisa…
Republinut (Republican + nut)
"Republinut" (Republican + nuts) is a term used by those who believe that Republicans are crazy (or "nuts"). "Republinuts" has been cited in print since at least 1996…
Great Divergence
The economist Paul Krugman wrote in the first post of his New York (NY) Times blog, The Conscience of a Liberal, on September 18, 2007: "The great divergence: Since the late 1970s the America…
Great Compression
The term "Great Compression" was coined by Claudia Dale Goldin and Robert A. Margo in their book, The Great Compression: The wage structure in the United States at mid-century (1991). The…
Great Contraction
The "Great Contraction" is the period from 1929-1933 that is also called the "Great Depression." Economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006) popularized -- but did not coin -- the…
Trashuries (trash + Treasuries)
A United States Treasury security (the securities are usually called "Treasuries") is a debt financing instrument backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. The…