Fiscal Child Abuse (deficit spending)
"Fiscal child abuse" is another name for deficit spending -- where the children (future) are left with the bill for the present. The term has come into increasing use in the United States…
Archive for 08/2009
“Government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have”
U.S. president Gerald Ford told Congress in 1974: "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have." The saying…
Melba Toast (Toast Melba)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Melba toastMelba toast is a very dry, crisp, thinly sliced toast often served with soups and salads or topped with either melted cheese or pâté. It is named…
Peach Melba (Pêche Melba)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Peach MelbaThe Peach Melba is a classic dessert, invented in 1892 or 1893 by the French chef Auguste Escoffier at the Savoy Hotel, London to honour the…
Park in the Sky (High Line)
The High Line was a 1.45-mile elevated railroad on the west side of Manhattan, built in the 1930s for commercial warehouse traffic. The High Line ceased to be used by 1980 and was proposed to be…
Jerrydome or Jerry Dome (Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington)
Cowboys Stadium (the new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys football team, located in Arlington, TX) was completed in May 2009. It is the largest domed stadium in the world. By at least March 2007, the…
Jerrytron (Cowboys Stadium television screen, named after owner Jerry Jones)
The Cowboys Stadium television screen is the largest high-definition television screen in the world. It's 90 feet off the ground; in the first pre-season football game on August 21, 2009, a…
“Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program”
"Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program" (or "Nothing lasts longer than a temporary government program") has been credited to U.S. president Ronald Reagan…
“Put Texas in your corner” (vehicle registration)
Starting September 2005, the Texas Department of Transportation began a publicity campaign to get Texans to timely register their vehicles. Two trademarked slogans are "Put Texas in your…
“Check the date, love your state” (vehicle registration)
Starting September 2005, the Texas Department of Transportation began a publicity campaign to get Texans to timely register their vehicles. Two trademarked slogans are "Check the date, love…
“A day late and a dollar short”
The phrase "another day, another dollar" dates to the early 1900s and is a typical day laborer's lament -- meaning constant work for little pay or advancement. "A day late and a…
“Another day, another dollar”
"More days, more dollars" is an old sailor's saying from at least the 1850s. The more days at sea, the more dollars earned by the sailor. "Another day, another dollar" is a…
“If you snooze, you lose”
"If you snooze, you lose" has been the advertising pitch of many in retail sales. Tom Parsons' Best Fares (bestfares.com), based in Irving, Texas, has long used (since the 1980s) the…
“No price is too high for a bull or too low for a bear” (Wall Street proverb)
"No price is too high for a bull or too low for a bear" means that nothing can be too good for the optimist or too bad for the pessimist. The stock market proverb was cited in the London…
“The best social program is a job”
Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) favored free enterprise and smaller government. During Reagan's successful 1980 campaign for president of the United States, he said: "I happen to think that the…
Austex or AusTex or Aus-Tex (Austin, Texas)
"Austex" (or "AusTex" or "Aus-Tex") is a name formed from "Austin" and 'Texas." Walker's Austex Chile Company existed in Austin from the 1910s…
Snakebit or Snake-bit (Snakebitten or Snake-bitten)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Merriam-Webster Online DictionaryMain Entry: snake·bit Pronunciation: \-ˌbit\Variant(s): or snake·bit·ten \-ˌbi-tən\Function: adjective Date: 1957: having or…
“Efficiency of the Post Office, compassion of the IRS” (government-run healthcare)
National health care ("government-run health care") became a popular political topic in the early 1990s ("Hillarycare," after First Lady Hillary Clinton) and in 2009…
“Diner: This coffee tastes like mud. Waiter: Well, it was ground this morning!”
A diner at a restaurant complains that the coffee tastes like mud. The waiter remarks: "It should be! It was ground this morning!" This well-known coffee joke (a pun on the noun and the…
“Diner: I’ve tasted fresher fish. Waiter: Not in here!” (Jewish joke)
A Jewish joke involves a diner (named Frieda or Freda or Miriam or Ethel or Izzy) who complains about a restaurant's food. "I've tasted fresher fish," the diner says. "Not…