Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"If past history is all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians" is one of the sayings of American investor Warren Buffett. It's another way of stating the…
Washington Heights, in Manhattan, had many German immigrants in the 1930s and 1940s. The neighborhood was nicknamed "das vierte Reich" ("the Fourth Reich") from about 1937.…
Washington Heights, in Manhattan, had many German immigrants in the 1930s and 1940s. The neighborhood was nicknamed "Frankfurt on the Hudson" (cited in print from only the 1980s).…
T.S. Eliot (1888-1965) wrote in 1929: "If we take the widest and wisest view of a Cause, there is no such thing as a Lost Cause because there is no such thing as a Gained Cause. We fight for…
The actor Jimmy Stewart played Jefferson Smith in the film Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), saying these now-famous lines: "I guess this is just another lost cause, Mr. Paine. All you…
The popular book A Random Walk Down Wall Street (1999) stated: "These studies lend support to the old Wall Street maxim, 'A pie doesn't grow through its slicing.'" A pie…
"Time is the friend of stocks, the enemy of bonds" has been cited in print since at least 2008 and is of unknown origin. The saying includes the word "time," but probably means…
Park Slope is a neighborhood in western Brooklyn. Street parking is so scarce that it's been nicknamed "No-Park Slope" (or "No Park Slope") since at least 2007. Wikipedia:…
"A lost opportunity is better than lost money" has been cited in print since at least 1919. The saying means that the lost opportunity may (or may not) have gained money, but it's…
"Politics is war without bloodshed, while war is politics with bloodshed" is from Chinese leader Mao Zedong (1893-1976); his collected speeches from 1938 were published under the titled…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Earmark (politics)n United States politics, an earmark is a legislative (especially congressional) provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Earmark (politics)n United States politics, an earmark is a legislative (especially congressional) provision that directs approved funds to be spent on specific…
Richard Ford's Gatherings from Spain contained a Spanish proverb for salad: "One thing, however, is truly delicious in Spain -- the salad, to compound which, says the Spanish proverb,…
Lemonade has long been a popular summer drink. Strawberry lemonade has been a popular variant, cited in print since at least 1857. Strawberry lemonade has been popular in the circus and might have…
Pitchforks and torches have long symbolized an angry mob. The pitchforks-and-torches mob was present in the film Frankenstein (1931) and Mel Brooks' film parody Young Frankenstein (1974).…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wiktionary: low-haning fruitNounlow-hanging fruit (plural low-hanging fruits)1.(idiomatic) Easily obtained gains; what can be obtained by readily available means…
"Buy one and get one free" is a familiar promotion by retailers to move product. "Buy One -- Get One Free" has been cited in print since at least 1908. "BOGOF" has…
"Buy the best and cry only once" (BTBCOO) means that a customer cries once at the high price, but doesn't cry again (because the higher price meant greater quality). It is not clear…
"Brown eggs are local eggs and local eggs are fresh" is a slogan of the New England Brown Egg Council of Augusta, Maine. The trademarked slogan (first used in February 1982) was made into…
SMASH (Salmon-Mackerel-Anchovies-Sardines-Herring or Sardines-Mackerel-Anchovies-Salmon-Herring) is an acronym for fatty fish high in Omega-3. The acronym has been used since at least 1996. Google…