“You have Van Gogh’s ear for music” (no ear for music)
Film director Billy Wilder (1906-2002) was making the film comedy Kiss Me, Stupid (1964) when he listened to an actor sing. The actor couldn't sing. "You have Van Gogh's ear for…
“You know you’re getting old when you clean your house to the music you used to get drunk to”
"You know you're over 30 when you now clean your house to the music you used to get drunk to" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying has several small…
“You know you’re old when you clean to the music you used to drink to”
"You know you're old when you clean to the music you used to drink too" was posted on Twitter by [Sparkling heart] on February 20, 2021. "You know you're old when you clean…
“You know you’re over 30 when you now clean your house to the music you used to get drunk to”
"You know you're over 30 when you now clean your house to the music you used to get drunk to" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying has several small…
“You know you’re over 40 when you now clean your house to the music you used to get drunk to”
"You know you're over 30 when you now clean your house to the music you used to get drunk to" is a saying that has been printed on many images. The saying has several small…
“You never cut funny” (scriptwriting adage)
The movie My Favorite Year (1982) was based on the Sid Caesar variety television show Your Show of Shows (1950-1954) -- a live television comedy legacy in New York City continued with Saturday…
“You should try anything once—except incest and folk dancing”
"You should try anything/everything once -- except incest and folk dancing" is a popular jocular saying of unknown authorship. "His hobby is to try anything once— except fretwork…
“Your Broadway and Mine” (Walter Winchell poem)
New York-born newspaper gossip columnist Walter Winchell (1897-1972) got his start on the Vaudeville News in 1920. He published the Broadway-themed poem "Your Broadway and Mine" on March…
“Your kilt should be short enough for dancing a jig, but long enough to hide your lucky charms”
"St. Patrick's Day Tip: Your kilt should be short enough for dancing a jig, but long enough to hide your lucky charms" (also "Make sure your kilt is short enough to do a jig,…
“Breakdancing is the most important dance of the day”
"Breakdancing" has nothing do to with "breakfast" (often called "the most important meal of the day"), but there are jokes. "Breakdance is the most important…
2 Dow Shay (two show day)
"Two dow shay" is a spoonerism for "two show day." Two shows a day is a business day in the theater, and the joke is that it's so exhausting that even the term can't…
5000 or M5 (dance move)
A "dip" dance move has also been called "Death drop" (or "Deathdrop"), "Shablam," "Shawam" (or "Shawham") and "5000." At the…
Actors Stewdio (Jim Downey’s Steak House nickname)
Wikipedia: Actors StudioThe Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights at 432 West 44th Street between Ninth and Tenth Avenues in the…
Aimez-vous Glamis (name used to avoid the “Macbeth” curse)
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth includes witches, and theater tradition has it that the play is cursed. Saying the play's name or its lines (outside of an actual performance) is said…
Any Body Can Dance (“ABCD” backronym)
"ABCD (Any Body Can Dance)" is a saying that is becoming increasing popular in dance. ABCD: Any Body Can Dance (2013) was the title of an Indian film. ABCD: Any Body Can Dance (2003) was…
Aristocrat of Harlem (Cotton Club nickname)
The Cotton Club (located in Harlem at 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue from 1923 to 1935, then midtown at Broadway and 48th Street from 1936 to 1940) was called the "Aristocrat of Harlem."…
Aristocrat of the Village (Barney Gallant’s nickname)
Bernard "Barney" Gallant (1884-1968) operated several speakeasies in Greenwich Village. "Barney Gallant's" was located at 85 West 3rd Street. From 1929 through 1931, the…
Battle of the Bands (Savoy Ballroom)
The term "Battle of the Bands" existed before Harlem, but Harlem's Savoy Ballroom (596 Lenox Avenue/Malcolm X Boulevard) made it famous in the late 1930s. Chick Webb, Count Basie and…
Big Apple (Broadway, in columns by Walter Winchell and O. O. McIntyre)
Broadway (a street, especially in the theater district) was the "Big Apple" to syndicated newspaper columnists Walter Winchell (1897-1972) and O. O. McIntyre (1884-1938). Winchell's…
Big Apple (Hozea Massiah, Toronto hip-hop figure, 1971-2025)
Hozea Massiah (1971-2025) was known as "Swagg Boss" and especially as "Big Apple." He was a Toronto hip-hop entrepreneur who had the clothing lines "I'm Not A…