“Piss on the fire and call in the dogs”
To "piss on the (camp)fire and call in the dogs" is an alleged cowboy saying for quitting time. The saying has been cited in print since at least 1969 and has been used by many Texas…
Archive for 11/2011
POSX (U.S. Dollar Index or USDX nickname)
The U.S. Dollar Index (USDX) began in March 1973 and indexes the value of the United States dollar to foreign currencies. Turd Ferguson, of the blog TF Metals Report (his previous blog was…
Cowboys Classic (college football game)
The Cowboys Classic is an annual opening weekend college football game played at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The first game was played on September 5, 2009. The name "Cowboys…
“There are no small parts, only small actors” (theatre adage)
"There are no small parts, (there are) only small actors" is usually credited to theater director Constantin Stanislavski (1863-1938) of the Moscow Art Theatre. English citations of the…
“Anybody can manage the Yankees”
Baseball's New York Yankees have been so successful that it's been said that "Anybody/Anyone can/could manage the Yankees." The saying has been in print since at least 1933 and…
“Life is a marathon, not a sprint”
The marathon long-distance running event was introduced to the modern Oluympic events in 1896. The saying that something (life or marriage or business success or winning a war or running for…
Applejack
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Applejack (beverage)Applejack is a strong alcoholic beverage produced from apples, popular in the American colonial period. Applejack was historically made by…
Zuccotti Lung
In 2011, Zuccotti Park (formerly called Liberty Plaza Park, opposite the World Trade Center) filled up with Occupy Wall Street protesters. Some of the protesters starting coughing and labeled it…
Obscene Profit Timeout (commercial)
An "obscene profit timeout" is jocular term for a commercial. Conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh has called his show breaks "obscene profit timeouts" since at least…
Flat Broke
To be "flat broke" is to have absolutely no money. The word "flat" is added, perhaps, to emphasize that there is no bulge in any pants pocket to show even a single coin.…
Chocoholic
"Chocoholics" (chocolate + alcoholic) are addicted to (or just really love) chocolate. The term "chocoholic" has been cited in print since at least 1961 and 1964; it was one of…
Demosclerosis (democracy + sclerosis)
The term "demosclerosis" (democracy + sclerosis) was coined by Jonathan Rauch in his article "Demosclerosis" in the September 5, 1992 National Journal, followed by his book,…
Eurocrat (Euro/European + bureaucrat)
"Eurocrat" or "eurocrat" (Euro/European + bureaucrat) was first used in 1961 to designate officials in the European Economic Community (Common Market). Members of the Euopean…
Europocalypse (Euro/Europe + apocalypse)
"Europocalypse" (Euro/Europe + apocalypse) means the financial collapse of Europe, especially the countries using the euro as the official currency. "Europocalypse" has been…
Premium Support (health insurance)
The "premium support" plan to reform Medicare was outlined by Henry Aaron, an economist at the Brookings institution, and Robert Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute, in their…
“It isn’t sex that wrecks these players, it’s staying up all night looking for it”
New York Yankees and New York Mets baseball manager Casey Stengel (1890-1975) was supposedly asked by a reporter if he allowed his players to have sex before a ball game, responding: "It…
“No man escapes when freedom fails, the best men rot in filthy jails…”
Hiram Mann. a New York City attorney who died at age 83 in 1955, had these lines published in the Wall Street Journal in 1947: No man escapes When freedom fails,The best men rot in filthy jails;…
Banxodus (bank + exodus)
The "banxodus" (bank + exodus), or Bank Transfer Day, was planned for November 5, 2011 by the BoldProgressives (Progressive Change Campaign Committee) and their website Banxodus.org,…
“Everybody makes mistakes—that’s why they put erasers on pencils”
"Everybody makes mistakes -- that's why they put erasers on pencils" (or "that's why pencils have erasers") is a saying that dates to at least 1915. The saying is used…
“Together Everyone Achieves More” (TEAM)
"Together Everyone Achieves More" is a popular backronym (backward acronym) of the word "team." The inspirational "team" acronym has been cited in print since at least…