Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"If you took all the fools out of the Texas Legislature (Lege), it wouldn't be a representative body" is a remark that has been cited in print since at least 1986. Texas writer Molly…
Financial manager and Pacific Investment Management (PIMCO) co-founder William H. Gross coined the name "Sammy scheme" ("Uncle Sam" + Ponzi scheme) in PIMCO's November 2010…
Megan McArdle (writing as "Jane Galt") wrote this on the blog Asymmetrical Information on May 21, 2003: "Jane's Law: The devotees of the party in power are smug and arrogant.…
A person who murders people "knows where the bodies are buried." A person in government, business, or organized crime can know organizational secrets (not always criminal secrets, but…
"A lawyer must first get on, then get honor, and then get honest" is an old legal saying, usually given "anonymous" authorship. The saying has been recorded in print by at least…
The Huffington Post was started on May 9, 2005, by Arianna Huffington and others. The website features liberal/progressive news and opinion. The nickname Muffington Post (possibly from…
The "Bradley effect" is named after Tom Bradley, who was leading in the polls for California governor in 1982, but lost a close race to George Deukmejian. The "Bradley effect"…
"EARL'S PEARLS: The fastest way for a politician to become an elder statesman is to lose an election" is a line from the "It Happened Last Night" column by Earl Wilson in…
Wine and cheese is a popular combination. "Would you like some cheese with that whine?" is a joke saying that dates in print to at least 1991. The saying was made popular in the early…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikiquote: VoltaireFrançois-Marie Arouet (1694-11-21 – 1778-05-30), better known by his pen name Voltaire, was a French writer, deist and…
"A liberal is a person whose interests aren't at stake at the moment" is a statement that appeared in the November 1966 Reader's Digest. The saying was attributed to Willis…
"Chicken today and feathers tomorrow" (or "chicken today, feathers tomorrow") means that one can be successful one day (and eat chicken) and unsuccessful the next (and have…
David Icke, an author of "New Age conspiracism," was on the Alex Jones Infowars radio show on October 24, 2010, repeating a favorite phrase: "To have your head in the sand, you have…
"Love, peace and hair grease" is a nonsense goodbye, cited in print since September 1991, when it was used by the rapper Flavor Flav. "Love, peace and chicken grease" has been…
"When things are bad and getting worse, keep a cookie in your purse" has been cited in print since at least 1999, when it was on a greeting card. The saying has also appeared on a…
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) was founded on October 5, 1970. Conservative critics have long held that PBS has a pro-liberal bias. PBS has been nicknamed the "Public Brainwashing…
"I'm a vegetarian, not because I love animals...but because I hate plants!" said comedian A. Whitney Brown in the May 1983 Vegetarian Times. The joke is that if don't like…
"Vegetarian: an old Indian word for bad hunter" is a joke line (implying that those who choose not to eat meat are simply bad hunters) that has been featured on T-shirts and bumper…
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an animal rights organization, founded in 1980. In 1996, meat eaters did a PETA parody and registered a web address for "People Eating…
"A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" is an old dieters' saying. There are several lips/hips variations, such as "a second on the lips," "a minute on the…