Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"It's so dry, the birds are building their nests out of barbed wire" has made Texas joke lists since at least the early 1990s. There is some truth behind the joke. During the 1930s…
"It's so dry, the catfish are carrying canteens" is a version of a very old joke. In 1902, it was said that Southern California was so dry the coyotes were carrying canteens to cross…
"A body can pretend to care, but they can't pretend to be there" is advice from the book Don't Squat With Yer Spurs On!: A Cowboy's Guide to Life (1992) by Texas Bix…
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) wrote in his play Man and Superman (1903): "He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches." The saying is often given as, "Those who can, do, those who…
PolitiFact.com began in August 2007 as a political fact-checking service by the St. Petersburg (FL) Times. In January 2010, PolitiFact expanded to the Austin (TX) American-Statesman, and then to…
Am "environazi" or"enviro-Nazi" (environment + Nazi) is someone who forces radical environmental beliefs upon others. An "environazI" can be an environmental activist…
In 1896, it was reported that Baron Rothschild was asked for advice on financial transactions -- one with a very large rate of interest and another with a smaller rate. Rothschild reportedly said:…
A "hedgie" is a hedge fund or someone who works for a hedge fund. The term "hedgie" has been cited in print since at least 1986-87. The Free DictionaryHedgieSlang for a hedge…
Changing "U.S.A." to "U.S.S.A." (for "United Socialist States of America" or "United States of Socialist America") is imitative of "U.S.S.R."…
"If you want an audience, start a fight" is often said to be a Gaelic proverb. "If you want to build/draw a crowd, start/pick a fight" is often credited to the showman Phineas…
"Chickens come home to roost" is an idiomatic expression meaning that bad words or deeds will come back to the speaker or actor. The expression was popularized by Robert Southey, who put…
"To be the best, you have to play (against) the best" (or, "You have to play the best, to be the best") is an old sports maxim. Some sports leagues offer stronger competition…
POSPOTUS or POS POTUS stands for Piece Of Shit President Of The United States. "POS POTUS" has been cited in print since at least February 2000. A June 2010 post (see below) defines…
"If we lie to the Congress, it's a felony and if the Congress lies to us it's just politics" was written by Ken Huber of Tawas City, Michigan, and published in the Iosco County…
The suffix "-bot" (for"robot") is often added after a politician's name to show deluded, robot-like followers. For the 2007-2008 U.S. presidential campaign, followers of…
A "shampaign" (sham + campaign) is a fake campaign where a political candidate is running for office, but doesn't seriously have a chance of winning. There are many reasons to run a…
The term "Great Reset" came into popular use after the 2008 financial crisis and is similar to the economic terms "Great Depression" and "Great Recession." Richard…
Al-Qaeda (Arabic for "The Base") is a Sunni Islamic terrorist group founded in 1988-1989 by Osama bin Laden -- with the help of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) -- to fight the…
A "fortress balance sheet" of a bank or a company is one that shows sufficient capital to withstand a downturn in business conditions (or "attacks on the fortress"). The term…
Silver has been called the "common man's (precious) metal" because it's a fraction of the cost of gold. The nickname "common man's metal" has been cited in print…