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November 26, 2022
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“Acting is the ability to dream on cue”

"Acting is the ability to dream on cue" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying is credited to English actor Ralph Richardson (1902-1983), although Richardson usually…

June 20, 2011
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“Actor can read the telephone book” (actor’s saying)

An old saying is that an entertainer is so good or so popular that he or she can "read the telephone book/directory" and the audience will still be satisfied. The saying appeared in print…

October 20, 2012
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“Actor: What’s my motivation? / Director: Your salary”

A classic acting joke, told both on Broadway and in Hollywood, has an actor reading a line and asking the director, "What's my motivation?" The director snaps back with a terse…

November 27, 2022
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“Actors have to dream to order”

"Acting is the ability to dream on cue" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying is credited to English actor Ralph Richardson (1902-1983), although Richardson usually…

November 5, 2020
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“After playing guitar for years, I thought I could learn to play the piano…”

"@td644: 'A piano is the easiest instrument to pick up.' @ProtomanX97: 'BRB, going to pick up a piano'" was posted on Twitter by QuoteableClusterduck on August 28,…

June 23, 2022
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“Ain’t no fuckin way that whole Siberian Orchestra is trans”

Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) is an American rock band. "Trans-Siberian" usually means "across Siberia," but there are jokes where "trans" means…

January 23, 2017
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“All Cows Eat Grass” (ACEG music mnemonic)

Entry in progress -- B.P. EGBDF mnemonics include “Every Good Boy Deserve Favor/Favour,” "Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge," "Every Good Boy Does Fine," "Every Girl Bakes…

April 27, 2017
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/CircusPets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)

“All music is folk music. I ain’t never heard a horse sing a song”

American blues singer Big Bill Broonzy (1903-1958) explained in a 1953 performance (and probably earlier): "Some people call these folk songs. All the songs I've heard in my life was folk…

April 12, 2023
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“Although Jesus was known as a Carpenter, he never actually sang on any of the albums”

Jesus was a carpenter, but he was not a member of the American vocal and instrumental duo The Carpenters. "RT @Satans_Thong: They say Jesus was a carpenter. I can't recall him singing on…

December 22, 2020
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“Always jingle all the way! Nobody likes a half-assed jingler”

"Always jingle all the way! Nobody likes a half-assed jingler" -- a joke on the "jingle all the way" line in the Christmas song "Jingle Bells" -- is a saying that has…

March 21, 2022
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“America the Beautiful” (1902 revisions)

The words to the poem "America the Beautiful" were composed by Wellesley College professor Katharine Lee Bates (1859-1928) in 1893, after a visit to Pike's Peak in 1893. The poem,…

December 14, 2012
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“An actor without a playwright is like a hole without a doughnut”

American drama critic and author George Jean Nathan (1882-1958) wrote in Encyclopædia of the Theatre (1940): "An actor without a playwright is like a hole without a doughnut." In other…

November 4, 2016
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“An ill wind that nobody blows good” (musical instrument joke)

"It's an ill wind that blows nobody any good" is a proverb from the 16th century. In the 1920s, the proverb was expanded to jokingly describe musical instruments. "It's an…

August 17, 2019
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“An odd day. Found a hat full of money, then got chased by a guy with a guitar”

Many musicians play in the streets and the subway, and leave a hat out for donations. "Found a hat full of money on the sidewalk. But for some reason some angry man started chasing me with a…

October 21, 2013
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“An onion will make you cry, but they never have invented a vegetable that will make you laugh”

What's harder -- to make an audience laugh or to make them cry? The classic answer is that comedy is harder because even an onion can make someone cry, but there is no vegetable that can make…

December 10, 2022
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words” (acting adage)

"An ounce of behavior is worth a pound of words" is an acting adage that has been printed on many images. The saying is credited to acting teacher Sanford Meisner (1905-1997). "An…

April 12, 2022
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“And crown thy good Red Riding Hood” (“America the Beautiful” mondegreen)

"And crown thy good Red Riding Hood" is a mondegreen of "And crown thy good with brotherhood," a line in the patriotic hymn "America the Beautiful." The misheard lyric…

April 12, 2022
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“And crown thy good with Robin Hood” (“America the Beautiful” mondegreen)

"And crown thy good with Robin Hood" is a mondegreen of "And crown thy good with brotherhood," a line in the patriotic hymn "America the Beautiful." The misheard lyric…

January 4, 2018
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“Any joke can be funny with the right delivery. Except for abortion jokes. There is no delivery”

It's often said that comedy depends on the delivery. "Anything can be funny if there is a right delivery, except abortion jokes as they have no delivery" is a dark joke that was…

October 30, 2018
Music/Dance/Theatre/Film/Circus

“Apparently, mime on mime violence is a real problem. You just don’t hear about it”

"Mime extremists are responsible for a lot of violence. You just don't hear about it" is a mime joke that was posted on Twitter by Baron Spider on March 23, 2014. "Apparently…

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About the Website and Editor

BARRY POPIK is a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary of American Regional English, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Yale Book of Quotations and Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Since 1990 he has also been a regular contributor to Gerald Cohen's Comments on Etymology.

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