Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"No matther whether th' constitution follows h' flag or not, th' Supreme Coort follows th' election returns" wrote Finley Peter Dunne (1867-1936) in 1901, through his…
"There is no such thing as a cheap politician" is sometimes called "Ferdinand Lundberg's Law," after New York University professor and author Ferdinand Lundberg…
"Get re-elected" was called "the first law for officeholders" by Harold Faber, in a 1968 article on humorous "laws" for the New York (NY) Times. 'Get…
"Government expands to absorb revenue, and then some" was labeled "Wicker's Law" by New York (NY) Times political writer Tom Wicker, in a book review article…
Government budgets and government programs tend to grow. Small projects or programs get approved and then vastly increase in size. "An elephant is a mouse built to government…
"No matter how thin you slice it, it's still baloney" means that you still get "baloney" (nonsense), no matter how little you take of it. Variety slang writer Jack Conway…
Politicians don't like to admit when they're wrong. "Often in error, but never in doubt" (or "Often wrong, but never in doubt") is a saying that's been used by…
"Kickbacks must always exceed bribes" has been described as "The First Law of Management" or "The Hidden Truth of Management." John Peers collected the saying in 1978…
"An 'acceptable level of unemployment' means that the government economist to whom it is acceptable still has a job" was given as 'Nowlan's Truism" in 1978 and…
The name "security mom" was first used by Delaware Senator Joe Biden, cited in print since a least January 28, 2003. Biden had said that since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in…
"The First Law of Economists" (or "The First Law of Economics") has been jokingly given a "Newton's Third Law of Motion" spin: "For every economist, there…
"Bentley's Second Law of Economics: The only thing more dangerous than an economist is an amateur economist!" has been cited in print since at least 2002. There is no evidence who…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Lame duck (politics)A lame duck is an elected official who is approaching the end of his or her tenure, and especially an official whose successor has already…
The name "mortgage mom" was coined in a September 5, 2006 article in the Washington (DC) Post by Jeffrey H. Birnbaum and Chris Collizza: "'Mortgage Moms' May Star in…
"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government" was written by environmentalist Edward Abbey (1927-1989) and published in 1989. "His government"…
The saying "drain the swamp" has had a long history in American politics. The saying originally meant to "drain the swamp" to get rid of malaria-carrying mosquitoes. Victor…
"Moola" (also "moolah" or "mulah") means "money." Many derivations have been suggested from many languages, but all are lacking in historical citations. A…
The Daily Kos is a progressive political blog, founded in 2002 by Markos Moulitsas. The blog gets its name from the second syllable of the name "Markos." Members of the Daily Kos…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: We are all Keynesians now"We are all Keynesians now" is a now-famous phrase coined by Milton Friedman and attributed to U.S. president Richard Nixon.…
The political term "Rockefeller Republican" takes its name from Nelson Rockefeller (1908-1979), the Republican governor of New York from 1959 to 1973, who then became vice president of…