Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
What's worse than finding a worm in an apple that you're eating? Finding half a worm! (Meaning that one has eaten the other half.) This popular joke appears to have started in 1911. The…
Entry in progress -- B.P. BizzyBlogNovember 30, 2005Voting with Our Feet, Part 5: Willisms Looks at State Migration Patterns(...)COMMENTSGeorge Gilder summed it up years ago. “Taxes don’t…
"The shack" is the name for the police reporters' room on the second floor of One Police Plaza (built in 1973), near the Brooklyn Bridge. In 2009, the police department announced…
"Question: Why did the skeleton go to the barbecue? Answer: He needed some spare ribs!" This joke (cited in print since at least 2000) has appeared in many joke books, especially…
Entry in progress -- B.P. The Free Dictionarydown-home (American)down-home things are simple and typical of life in the countryside (always before noun) It's a diner with down-home American…
"One-hour fuel" is the name that fire prevention workers have termed dry weeds and grass. In West Texas -- where there is plenty of dry grass, for example -- the grass can burn as quickly…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Sam Hill (euphemism)Sam Hill is an American English slang phrase, a euphemism for "the devil" or "hell" personified (as in, "What in…
The "green fairy" (also called the "green lady" and the "green muse") has been a Paris nickname for the drink absinthe since the 1880s. The "green hour" --…
Several New York City synagogues no longer have congregations to stay operating; the buildings are sometimes turned into condos. New condominium apartments are sometimes built around a…
New York University built a 26-story dorm at 12th Street (off Fourth Avenue) in 2008-2009. The facade of St, Ann's Church (built in the 1840s) was kept; the real estate blog Curbed.com called…
Greenwich Street between Carlisle and Rector Streets was called "a kind of Sodom South" in the New York (NY) Times on March 9, 2007. A topless bar (Pussycat Lounge), Thunder Lingerie and…
"Politics stops at the water's edge" is an old political adage, credited to several politicians. The phrase means that, in regards to foreign affairs, the United States is united and…
"Is it bigger than a breadbox?" (or "Is it bigger than a bread box?") was a catchphrase on the television game show What's My Line?. Like the game of "Twenty…
"The blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice" (or "The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice") has been used by American blacks since at least the publication of Wallace…
A "kosher" restaurant must be properly certified. Many delicatessens and restaurants called themselves "kosher style" -- these restaurants are not kosher. The…
The Texas "road fairy" can build new roads in the state without raising taxes or charging tolls. The "road fairy" is a fiction, of course. There is one citation of "road…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Corn chipA corn chip is a snack food made from cornmeal fried in oil or baked, usually in the shape of a small noodle or scoop. Corn chips are thick, rigid and…
"Bread and water can so easily be toast and tea" is frequently cited, but never credited to any author. Something like the phrase is cited in 1903; the exact phrase is cited on the…
"Remember the tea-kettle -- though up to its neck in hot water, it still sings" is cited in print from 1920. The saying was a popular one during the hard times ("hot water") of…
Tortilla chips are are small, crispy fried wedges of corn tortillas. In 2003, Texas declared "tortilla chips and salsa" to be the official state snack. The snack is often (but not always)…