Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
Presidents often blame the previous administration for current failures. In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama was criticized for frequent "blame Bush" (George W. Bush, the previous…
"Politicians and diapers should both be changed regularly, and for the same reason" is a saying that has appeared on many images, but is of unknown origin. " "Eileen's…
"I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes" is a saying that has been written on T-shirts. The saying is recorded in print since at least…
Filmmaker Woody Allen said in 1977: "Showing up is 80 percent of life." "The world is run by those who show up" has been a slogan of many political activists, recorded in print…
An American voter often has to choose between a Democrat candidate and a Republican candidate, neither of whom the voter likes. A vote is cast for "the lesser of two evils" -- the least…
"The most dangerous food is wedding cake" is an old joke. Wedding cake usually doesn't cause food poisoning, but it might cause other problems (if the marriage is bad). American…
"One useless man is a shame, two is a law firm, and three or more is a congress" is attributed to John Adams (1735-1826), but he never said it. The real authors are the people behind the…
Several people have noticed that when you put the words "the" and "IRS" together, it spells the word "theirs." The joke has been cited in print since at least 1984,…
"A 'gaffe' is the opposite of a 'lie': It's when a politician tells the truth," wrote political pundit Michael Kinsley in 1984. It's become known as…
"Repubican” is a slang name for the Republican party, used by speakers who believe that the Republicans are as low as the pubic region of the body. The terms “Repubican” and…
Entry in progress -- B.P. YourDictionary.comcontingent convertible definition - finance A mandatory convertible security that allows investors to sell their shares back to the issuer within a…
"Libturd” (liberal + turd) is an epithet used by some on the political right against the political left. “Libturd” has been cited in print since January 2005, less frequently with the…
"Lefturd” (left + turd) is an epithet used by some on the political right against the political left. “Lefturd” has been cited in print since July 2002. Similar terms include…
"Government is inherently incompetent, and no matter what task it is assigned, it will do it in the most expensive and inefficient way possible" was the first of six basic premises in a…
Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927-2003) was elected New York senator in 1976. On March 1, 1976, Moynihan endorsed Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson, a Washington senator, for the Democrat nomination…
"Death and taxes" are two things that have been called inevitable. Syndicated newspaper wit Robert Quillen (1887-1948) wrote many jokes about "the difference between death and…
John Adams is often credited with the quotation: "There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by the sword, the other is by debt." There is no record that Adams ever said…
American Revolution orator Patrick Henry (1736-1799) is often credited for having said: "The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument…
George Santayana (1863-1952) wrote: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." "Those who forget (cannot remember) the pasta are condemned (doomed) to reheat…
Pizza often has burnt bubbles of cheese that some like and others dislike eating. There's no formal name for them, although "pizza bubble" and "pizza blister" have been…