“Where there’s a hit, there’s a writ” (show business adage)
"Where there's a hit, there's a writ" means that when one is successful in show business (for example, with a hit song), a lawsuit for some of the profits is sure to follow. The…
Archive for /P34280
Sons of the Wild Jackass
George Higgins Moses (1869-1944), a senator from New Hampshire, spoke at a Washington dinner of New England manufacturers in November 1929 and described some insurgent Republican senators as…
“If you have a message, call Western Union” (theatre adage)
Playwrights and screenwriters are often cautioned against sending a political message in their dramatic scripts; the public wants entertainment, not a lecture. "Not one of those…
“Acting is reacting” (acting adage)
"Acting is reacting" is an old acting adage. The actor must react to what the other actors say and do, or to the conditions. The saying has been used both on the stage and in movies. The…
Big Tent
Both Republicans and Democrats used to hold many tent meetings; the terms "Republican tent" and "Democratic tent" were used metaphorically to represent the party and its…
Chickenhawk (Chicken Hawk)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Chickenhawk (politics)Chickenhawk (also chicken hawk and chicken-hawk) is a political epithet used in the United States to criticize a politician, bureaucrat,…
Hawk
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: War HawkThe term war hawk, in modern use, describes one who seeks war on a country or region and is used in contrast to the more peaceful dove. Historical War…
Dove
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)dove, n.Polit. A person who advocates negotiations as a means of terminating or preventing a military conflict, as opposed to one (cf. hawk n.1…
Forever Recession
The term "forever recession" was coined by Seth Godin on his blog on September 21, 2010, "The forever recession," and on September 29, 2011, "The forever recession (and the…
“If you’re going to tell people the truth, be funny or they’ll kill you” (theatre adage)
Playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) is credited with saying, "If you are going to tell people the truth, you'd better make them laugh. Otherwise, they'll kill you." Shaw…
Snollygoster
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wiktionary: snollygosterEtymology19th century American English. Possibly from snallygaster, a mythical beast that preys on poultry and children, possibly from Pennsylvania…
Blue Smoke and Mirrors
Entry in progress -- B.P. Bartleby.comRespectfully Quoted: A Dictionary of Quotations. 1989. NUMBER: 1415 AUTHOR: Jimmy Breslin (1929– ) QUOTATION: All political power is primarily an…
BOMFOG (Brotherhood Of Man, Fatherhood Of God)
Entry in progress -- B.P. 3 July 1939, New York (NY) Times, "Bishop O'Hara Is Peaker on Eve of Opening of Institute of Public Affairs" by Winifred Mallon, pg. 7:CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.,…
Enron Field Curse (stadium name curse)
"The Enron Field Curse" was named by The Business Insider on January 18, 2012. When a company puts its name on a stadium, the theory has it, the company's business fortunes take a…
“It’s immoral to let a sucker keep his money” (poker adage)
"It's immoral to let a sucker keep his money" (or, "It's morally wrong to let a sucker keep his money") has been attributed to "Canada Bill" Jones (?-1880)…
Peacenik
A "peacenik" is someone who opposes war. The term "peacenik" has one citation in 1958, but was popularized in 1962 and throughout the 1960s. Wiktionary: peacenikEtymologypeace…
“Study long, study wrong” (dominoes adage)
"Study long, study wrong" has been used in many sports and games, such as dominoes, cards, checkers, golf, billiards and horse racing. "If you study long, you study wrong" has…
“A difference of opinion is what makes horse racing and missionaries”
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), using the pen name Mark Twain, wrote in the book The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894): "It were not best that we should all think alike; it is…
“An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less”
"An expert is one who knows more and more about less and less" (also, "A specialist is one who knows more and more about less and less") is a saying that became popular in 1926.…
“Those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who wonder what happened”
Nicholas Murray Butler (1862-1947), the president of Columbia University who Butler Library is named after, spoke before the University of California on March 23, 1931: "The vast population of…