Yuglies (young + ugly; Dallas Cowboys offensive line)
The Dallas Cowboys football team fan blog "Blogging the Boys" (BTB) sought a new name for the 2011 Cowboys' young and revamped offensive line. A poster named "Shaymer"…
Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
The Dallas Cowboys football team fan blog "Blogging the Boys" (BTB) sought a new name for the 2011 Cowboys' young and revamped offensive line. A poster named "Shaymer"…
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the successor to World War II's Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The CIA has been nicknamed "The Company" since at least 1972, when that…
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is the successor to World War II's Office of Strategic Services (OSS). The CIA has been nicknamed the "Pickle Factory" since at least 1965, when…
"Euro quake" or "euroquake" (euro + earthquake) is a name for dramatic changes in the European financial markets. The word was technically coined by Daniel Burstein's book,…
Rosslyn in Arlington County, Virginia, is on the Potomac River, across from Washington, DC. The nickname "Manhattan on the Potomac" began to be used in 2006 to represent the new…
A "diaper district" is a neighborhood that is filled with many new families (especially those including diaper-age children). The New York (NY) Times coined the name "Diaper…
"Competition is (a) sin" is often credited to John D. Rockefeller (1839-1937), the founder of the Standard Oil Company. The saying has been attributed to Rockefeller since at least 1971,…
Financial author Robert Kiyosaki, of the "Rich Dad" website and series of books, wrote in Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich: How to get rich and stay rich forever! (2002):…
A common joke has it that a Southerner/Redneck/Aggie/Texan utters these famous last words:"Hey y'all, watch this!" (Or, "Hold my beer and watch this!")The implication is…
"Leading from behind" can describe someone who is afraid of the action. In Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera, The Gondoliers (1889), it was said of the Duke of Plaza-Toro: "In…
"Tits for tots" (a pun on "tit-for-tat") was the nickname pf a proposed 2004 Texas strip club tax that would, supposedly, have raised revenue for the education of Texas…
The Texas legislature heard a bill in 2009 to legalize "pork choppers" -- helicopters ("choppers") used to hunt feral hogs ("pork"). "Pork choppers" were…
"Tits for tots" (a pun on "tit-for-tat") was the nickname pf a proposed 2004 Texas strip club tax that would, supposedly, have raised revenue for the education of Texas…
"Gold is no one's liability" is a saying that has been cited in print since at least 1960 and has been popular since the 2000s, when the dollar value of gold greatly increased. Gold…
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) began in 1979 for the purpose of responding to disasters. FEMA has had many critics, especially for its response to 2005's Hurricane Katrina. The…
"Empty calories" are calories that don't have many nutritional values (such as vitamins or minerals) and come from foods such as cakes, candy, ice cream, sodas and alcoholic drinks.…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Boll weevils (politics)Boll weevils was an American political term used in the mid- and late-20th century to describe conservative Southern Democrats. During…
A "gypsy moth Republican" is a moderate Republican from the Midwest or the Northeast (where gypsy moths cause frequent infestations). The term "gypsy moth" has been cited in…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Cost of livingCost of living is the cost of maintaining a certain standard of living. Changes in the cost of living over time are often operationalized in a…
The"shell game" consists of three shells (or cups) with a pea placed underneath one of the shells; the shells are then moved quickly, and people wager which shell contains the pea.…