“Good government is good politics”
"Good government is good politics" was a newspaper headline in 1890 and has been used by many politicians since then. Republican President Herbert Hoover used the line in 1931, Democratic…
Archive for 01/2011
“Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes”
Henry J. Kaiser (1882-1967) was an American industrialist who founded the companies Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel and the healthcare organization Kaiser Permanente. The columnist Drew Pearson…
“There are no called strikes in investing”
"There are no called strikes in investing" is a statement attributed to investor Warren Buffett, but Buffett's exact words on the television show Adam Smith's Money World in…
“There is never one cockroach” (business adage)
Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett added some homely advice to the 1989 annual report: "No sooner is one problem solved than another surfaces — never is there just one cockroach in the…
“Think like a fundamentalist; trade like a technician”
Dennis Gartman is a successful trader who writes The Gartman Letter. "Think like a fundamentalist and trade like a technician" has been his advice since at least the October 1989 issue of…
Tavern Sandwich
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Tavern sandwichA tavern sandwich is a sandwich commonly consumed in the Midwest region of the United States, originally consisting of unseasoned ground beef on…
Salad Bar
The "salad bar" was announced in April 1937 newspaper articles -- the "bar" being a glorified tea wagon on which salad ingredients were placed. The Boston Oyster House of the…
Anadama Bread
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Anadama breadAnadama bread is a traditional bread of New England made with white flour, cornmeal, molasses and sometimes rye flour. Origin of nameThere are…
Billy Goat Date Cake (Billy Goat Cookies)
"Billy Goats" are date cookies or date cakes. Some versions claim that the name comes from a time when a woman put the dish on a window sill to cool -- where it was eaten by the…
Depression Cake
Cakes were called "depression cakes" as early as 1932. The "depression" referred to the 1930s' economic depression, not a depression in the cake. Recipes differ; the most…
Apizza
"Apizza" (pronounced ah-BEETS) is a regional dialect version of the word "pizza," popular in New Haven, CT. New Haven's Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (since 1925) has…
“Make your tongue slap your brain” (good cooking)
"Make(s) your tongue slap your brain(s) out" means that something is mighty fine cooking. The jocular food expression is used in the South and has been cited in print since at least 1959.…
Curly Fries (Curly French Fries; Suzy-Q Potatoes)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: French friesFrench fries (American English, sometimes capitalized), fries, or French-fried potatoes are thin strips of deep-fried potato. Americans often refer…
Steak Fries (potatoes)
"Steak fries" (the potato dish, not the outdoor event similar to a barbecue or fish fry) are a thicker cut of french fries, often served with steak. The thicker cut gives a baked potato…
“News never sleeps”
"The news never sleeps" is an old saying in the news business. The October 25, 1905 Belleville (IL) News-Democrat had the slogan "It Prints the News," with "Wide…
“If you don’t know who you are, the stock market is an expensive place to find out”
"If you don't know who you are, this (the stock market or Wall Street) is an expensive place to find out" wrote "Adam Smith" (George Goodman) in his bestselling book, The…
Mockingbird Media
Operation Mockingbird began in the 1950s as a secret Central Intelligence Agency effort to propagandize both foreign and domestic media. A 1970s Congressional investigation revealed that Operation…
“When the Fed taps on the brakes, somebody goes through the windshield”
"When the Fed taps on the brakes, somebody goes through the windshield" means that when the Federal Reserve tightens the money supply (figuratively "tapping" or…
“Slow as molasses in January”
Molasses flows slowly, but it flows even more slowly when a tree is cold or frozen (such as in the winter month of January). The expression "slow as (cold) molasses" has been cited in…
Potato Sticks
Potato sticks look like small french fries and taste like potato chips; they're made with "shoestring" (also called "matchstick") potatoes. Potato sticks have been sold in…