Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
Stock investor John Templeton (1912-2008) is credited with giving this investment wisdom in February 1994: "Bull markets are born on pessimism, grow on skepticism, mature on optimism, and die…
The Work Progress Administration's 1938 Almanac for New Yorkers contained a page about New York City speech: "Wazzitooyuh? Delicate rebuff to an excessively curious questioner." The…
"There are only two kinds of music -- good (music) and bad (music)" is a saying associated with Duke Ellington (1899-1974) and Louis Armstrong (1901-1971) -- two composers who died in New…
"Never trust a fat dietitian" (sometimes misspelled "dietician") is a humorous saying often credited to "anonymous." A dietitian who can't lose weight seemingly…
Claude A. Swanson (1862-1939), Virginia's U.S. Senator from 1910-1933, had a rule for new Congressmen that was published in Current Opinion in 1923: "When in doubt, do right."…
Alben W. Barkley (1877-1956), the vice president under President Harry Truman from 1949 to 1953, was the keynote speaker at the July 1948 Democratic National Convention. "What is a bureaucrat?…
Claude A. Swanson (1862-1939), Virginia's U.S. Senator from 1910-1933, had a rule for new Congressmen that was published in Current Opinion in 1923: "When the water rises to the second…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Italian foods similar and often confused with the calzone include the stromboli, hippie roll/eppie roll and panzarotti/panzerotti. Wikipedia: CalzoneA calzone (Italian…
"Dinner is ready when the smoke alarm goes off" is a joke that means the cook always burns the meal. The joke has been cited in print from at least 1983 and has been printed on many…
Galveston boasts the ruins of pirate Jean Lafitte's La Maison Rouge (1417 Avenue A near the Galveston wharf), destroyed in 1821 or 1822. In 1912, an enormous electric sign declared:…
Galveston has been called the "Playground of the Southwest" since at least 1911, A 1918 newspaper explained the nickname: "An excellent beach, fishing, hunting, motoring and boating…
Galveston was nicknamed the "Free State of Galveston" during the Prohibition because of its illegal liquor, gambling and prostitution. The end of Prohibition and criminal investigations…
"Where there's smoke, there's fire" is an old proverb. A popular variant is "where there's smoke, there's toast" -- meaning something was burnt. In the…
Robert E. Litan of The Brookings Institution coined the nickname "derivatives dealers' club" in his April 7, 2010 paper: "The Derivatives Dealers’ Club and Derivatives Markets…
The phrase "you can't fire/shoot a cannon from a canoe" seemingly dates to naval warfare from the 1800s, but there's no evidence of the phrase until the late 20th century. The…
Cantonese cuisine (from the Guangdong Province in southern China) has been joked about by northern Chinese for the Cantonese variety that seemingly includes every living thing. The French writer…
The Pulp & The Bean, a Crown Heights coffee shop, in November 2010 offered "The Dieci" (Italian for "ten") -- ten shots of espresso in one cup (20 ounces). "It just…
U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890-1969) delivered his presidential farewell address on January 17, 1961: "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of…
ESPN Magazine called Texas Southern University "Second Chance U." in its October 5, 2009 issue. A school such as the University of Texas recruits the top athletes in the state; TSU get…
"A politician who is poor is a poor politician" ("Un político pobre es un pobre político") was the well-known political aphorism of Carlos Hank González (1927-2001), a…