“He broke into song because he couldn’t find the key”
Do people really "break into song"? A musical one-line saying is: "He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key." The pun-filled saying has been cited in print…
Work/Businesses
“He can jump out of the gym” (cliché said of athletic NBA, NFL draft prospect)
The NBA and NFL drafts are often held in New York City. A draft prospect is sometimes said to be "strong as a bull/ox" (very strong) or someone who can "run like a deer" (very…
“He can run, but he can’t hide” (“You can run, but you can’t hide”)
"He can run, but he can't hide" is a famous statement of boxing champion Joe Louis (1913-1981). Louis had won a tough 13-round fight by knockout against Billy Conn (1917-1993) in…
“He can take his’n and beat your’n, or take your’n and beat his’n” (coaching adage)
One coach (especially a football coach) often compliments another coach, saying that the coach can take his players and beat your players or take your players and beat his players. The success came…
“He cast down ten commandments. The two most important are…” (TV news joke)
American journalist and historian David Halberstam told a town meeting at Yale University in November 1974 that television condenses the news. If Moses had received the Ten Commandments in the…
“He could rescue a child from drowning and you’d accuse him of starving the sharks” (meme)
“If I (a politician) could walk on water, you’d (the press would) say that I can’t swim” is an old saying. "He (a politician) could rescue a child from drowning and you'd (the…
“He could sell ice to an Eskimo” (a good salesman)
"He could sell ice to an Eskimo" -- meaning that he can sell something to someone who has no need for it -- is an old expression to show that a person is a good salesman. "There are…
“He could sell sand in the Sahara desert” (a good salesman)
"He could sell sand in the Sahara desert" -- meaning that he can sell something to someone who has no need for it -- is an old expression to show that a person is a good salesman.…
“He couldn’t find a Jew in the Bronx”
In the first half of the 20th century, many Jewish people escaped crowded Manhattan and took the newly built subway line to homes in the borough of the Bronx (often along its popular street, the…
“He couldn’t hit a bull in the butt with a banjo”
"He couldn't hit a bull in the butt with a banjo" is said about someone who's drunk, or an athlete who isn't having a good day. It's not certain if this phrase…
“He couldn’t sell watermelons with the highway patrol blocking traffic”
A January 2005 blog post credited Jim Hightower with this phrase: "[W]e are upper-crust, elite intellectual snobs who couldn’t sell watermelons if we had the Highway Patrol blocking traffic…
“He gave a fireside chat and the fire went out” (joke)
U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt held radio "fireside chats" to communicate with American citizens. In September 1975, Washington Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson (1912-1983)…
“He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire”
Winston Churchill (1874-1965) supposedly said of a political rival: "He has all of the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire." The remark was supposedly made about either…
“He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious”
An athlete who can use both right and left hands is someone who is "ambidextrous." Something on both land and water is "amphibious." "He's amphibious" -- a…
“He is a big clog in their machine”
A "cog in the machine" is something that helps the machine run. A "clog" (a shoe) in the machine might make the machine stop running. "Clog" is a malaprop for the…
“He is a man of his most recent word”
Conservative columnist William F. Buckley, Jr. (1925-2008) said in August 1965 about President Lyndon B. Johnson: "He is a man of his most recent word." A "man of his word" is…
“He made so many of them” (Daily News Building quote)
"He made so many of them" is a quote on the Daily News Building at 220 East 42nd Street in Manhattan. The New York (NY) Daily News occupied the building from 1930 until 1995. although its…
“He may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch”
"He may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch" is what a political constituency (such as a political party or a cultural group) says of its own tarnished politician. This…
“He may not be in a class by himself, but it doesn’t take long to call the roll”
Houston Oilers Coach Bum Phillips (1923-2013) said of his star running back Earl Campbell in November 1979: "Earl may not be in a class by himself, but whatever class he's in, it…
“he problem with coffee is trying to make it when you haven’t had any yet”
TwitterSarah Brodeur@sarahjbrodeurthe problem with coffee is trying to make it when you haven't had any yet8:30 AM · Aug 7, 2011·Twitter Web Client TwitterGabriela…