Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"The Wall Street Journal is read by the people who run the country..." is a humorous list describing the readers of various newspapers. The New York (NY) Times "is read by people who…
"Saskatchewan is very much like Texas — except it's more friendly to the United States" is often attributed to American politician Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965), who made the remark…
"I'm not a member of any organized political party -- I'm a Democrat" is a famous political quotation attributed to humorist Will Rogers (1879-1935), although Rogers said it a…
Humorist Robert Benchley (1889-1945) used this line in the film The Road to Utopia (1946): "Did you ever stop to think of one of those dog sled teams? The lead dog is the only one that ever…
"When you’re about to get run out of town on a rail, get out in front and call it a parade" is an old saying of how to turn around a bad situation. The saying has been cited in print…
"Bears make the headlines and bulls make the money" was used by financial writer Malcolm Berko in 1990. In 1993, Berko wrote that, in 1963: "I had lunch with Bernard Baruch, and one…
"Elephants don't gallop" is an investment adage that Jim Slater (a former investment columnist for London's Sunday Telegraph) made famous some time before 1993. Slater meant…
The city of Alamo, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, is a popular destination for Winter Texans. Alamo has been nicknamed "Land of Two Summers," cited in print since at least 1978.…
The Blaze is a conservative news website, founded by Fox News host Glenn Beck, that premiered on August 31, 2010. On October 30, 2010, commenter "epkkik851" at Media Matters for America…
"Political suicide" is for a politician to support an unpopular (or highly contested) political position. For example, many people said that that it would be political suicide in 2009 for…
Chris Matthews popularized the political term "hardball" with his book, Hardball: How politics is played, told by one who knows the game (1988), and his MSNBC political show (since 1999),…
"Bad politicians are elected by good citizens who don't vote" has been attributed to drama critic George Jean Nathan (1882-1958), but there's no evidence that he said it first…
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) said since at least 1975: "Our job is not to make congress see the light, but to feel the heat." Reagan used the saying several times during his U.S. presidency…
"Few die and none resign' (or "few die, none resign") has been said of public officeholders who live long and well on the government payroll. President Thomas Jefferson…
"Prosperity absorbs all criticism" is a political axiom popularized by Frank Kent (1877-1958), who wrote the newspaper column "The Great Game of Politics" for the Baltimore (MD)…
In an election, there is one winner, no matter how close the vote is. The saying that there's "no second prize in politics" was described as "an old political axiom" by…
The United States capital of Washington, District of Columbia ("DC"), has been nicknamed the "District of Criminals" since at least 1992. The "criminals" term usually…
Singer-songwriter Willie Nelson bought land in central Texas and named the town "Luck." By at least 2003, the town's slogan was popularized: "You're either in Luck or out…
New Hampshire likes to brag that its primary is more important that the Iowa caucus to the presidential election cycle. In 1988, Vice President George H. W. Bush lost the Iowa caucus to Kansas…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Nuclear optionIn U.S. politics, the nuclear option allows the United States Senate to reinterpret a procedural rule by invoking the constitutional requirement…