Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikiquote: LuckI am a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more of it I seem to have. . Coleman Cox, in Listen to this (1922). Unsourced variant: The harder I…
"I'm so poor I can't afford to pay attention" is a quip that's found its way onto T-shirts. The saying is cited in print from at least 1964, but became popular in the 1990s…
The term "as sloppy as a soup sandwich" was printed in the Daily News (New York, NY) on January 28, 1977. "Sloppy as a soup sandwich" was entered in the "Canonical List of…
The Dallas Cowboys football team has many fans, but also many detractors. Some of these detractors (or fans critical of the team) use the feminine of cowboy -- cowgirl. The team has been derided…
"Four cents short of a nickel" is a description of someone who is "not all there." The expression is found on many lists of "full deckisms" (that is, "he's…
There is no such thing as a "football bat." There is a "baseball bat." The expression "queer as a football bat" (or "as messed up/screwed up/fucked up as a…
The financial firm of Morgan Stanley moved its "dinosaur" investment banking partners to a floor in a building at 1221 Avenue of the Americas in New York City, a few blocks from Morgan…
"Pundit" is a Sanskrit word (cited in print from the 1600s) meaning "a learned man." Modern "pundits" are experts or commentators in their fields. A "pundit"…
"Like a kid in a candy store" is an expression that means there are many wonderful choices/temptations for an individual. (A kid loves candy and a candy store has lots of it.) Citations…
"There is a providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children, and the United States of America" is often said to be a quotation of Otto von Bismarck (1818-1898). The quotation in the…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Hairy Man FestivalThe History of the Hairy Man Festival The Hairy Man Festival has been an annual event since 1994. It is a family-oriented festival that has raised…
"Too small to bail" is the opposite of "too big to fail." A company that is very large is sometimes deemed "too big to fail" because many other companies would fail…
The website Pimp My Wry (written by Kim Ficera) coined the term "fauxthor" (faux author) on May 14, 2009. The term refers to a politician or celebrity who "authors" a book --…
Hank Paulson, a former chairman and chief executive officer of the financial firm of Goldman Sachs, was United States Treasury Secretary from July 2, 2006-January 20, 2009. The influence of Goldman…
Matt Taibbi wrote in Rolling Stone of Jul 13, 2009: "The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Serious Eats - New YorkOrtine vs. Motorino: Two Breakfast Pizzas in BrooklynPosted by Carey Jones, April 13, 2009 at 10:00 AMPizza is a good thing. Breakfast is a good…
A "Mexican brownie" is a chocolate brownie. There is no standard recipe for a "Mexican brownie" and some food authors (see the 1997 citation below) question if there really is…
"Indescribably delicious" has described many things since at least the early 1800s. Chocolates and desserts have been described n advertising as "indescribably delicious" since…
The Quiznos chain of sandwich shops introduced a "bullet" sandwich in July 2009. A "bullet" is smaller than a Quiznos "torpedo" sandwich. An editorial cartoon in 1974…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Merriam-Webster Online DictionaryMain Entry: gravy trainFunction: noun Date: 1914: a much exploited source of easy money; also : gravy 2a (Oxford English…