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July 12, 2012
Education/Schools

“A professor is one who talks in someone else’s sleep”

"A professor is one who talks in someone else's sleep" is a jocular quotation that has been attributed to the poet W. H. Auden (1907-1973) since at least 1940. The quotation has…

August 30, 2013
Education/SchoolsPets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)

“A professor must have a theory, as a dog must have fleas”

Newspaper columnist and author H. L. Mencken (1880-1956) disliked The New Criticism: A Lecture Delivered at Columbia University, March 9, 1910 (1911) by Joel Elias Spingarn (1876-1939). Mencken…

September 21, 2021
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“A programmer walks into a bar…” (bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A programmer version is: "A programmer walks into a bar holding up two fingers and…

December 8, 2016
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“A pub is for life, not just for Christmas”

"A pub is for life, not just for Christmas" is a saying that has been printed on many T-shirts. The saying became popular in United Kingdom pubs from at least 2003, promoting year-round…

September 28, 2020
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“A puddle of vomit goes into a bar…” (bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." There are various "sick joke" versions. "A pile of vomit walks into a bar,…

August 12, 2019
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“A pun walks into a bar…” (bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A pun version is: "A pun walks into a bar, ten people die on the spot. Pun in, ten…

October 14, 2017
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“A QA engineer walks into a bar…” (bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A quality assurance (QA) engineer version is: "A QA engineer walks into a bar. Orders…

October 19, 2017
Food/Drink

“A quesadilla is essentially a grilled cheese sandwich”

The Mexican "quesadilla" has been compared to the American "grilled cheese sandwich." "In its simplest form, a quesadilla is a grilled cheese sandwich," the Calgary…

May 31, 2018
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“A question mark walks into a bar?” (bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A question mark version is: "A question mark walks into a bar?" The joke…

September 28, 2011
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“A quick nickel is better than a slow dime”

"A fast/quick nickel is better than a slow dime/quarter/dollar" means that a smaller profit (with greater volume) can be better for business than a potentially larger profit (with less…

December 1, 2012
Pets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)Sports/Games

“A race horse is an animal that can take several thousand people for a ride at the same time”

"A race horse is an animal that can take several thousand people for a ride at the same time" is a pun on the idiom "to take somebody for a ride," meaning to cheat or deceive…

June 30, 2026
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“A racehorse and his entourage walk into a bar…” (bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A race horse version is: "A racehorse and his entourage walk into a bar. The bouncer…

April 19, 2017
Food/Drink

“A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously”

"A raisin dropped in a glass of fresh champagne will bounce up and down continuously from the bottom of the glass to the top" is a popular observation. "Champagne Trick: A raisin…

June 28, 2018
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“A Rastafarian walks into a bank with a bag of marijuana. He wanted to open a joint account”

A joke about a "joint" bank account has been cited in print since at least 2009: "A Rastafarian walks into a bank with a huge bag of dagga wanting to open a joint account."…

November 24, 2010
Food/Drink

“A Rat In The House May/Might Eat The Ice Cream” (“arithmetic” spelling aid)

"A Rat In The House May/Might Eat The Ice Cream" is a mnemonic aid that some have used to spell the word "arithmetic." The line "a rat in the house may eat the ice…

January 9, 2020
Work/Businesses

“A real friend never gets in your way—unless you happen to be on the way down”

"A real friend never gets in your way -- unless you happen to be on the way down" (or "A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down") is a friendship…

September 22, 2012
Transportation

“A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works”

"A real patriot is the fellow who gets a parking ticket and rejoices that the system works" was written by Bill Vaughan (1915-1977), a columnist who specialized in aphorisms, in September…

January 27, 2021
Buildings/Housing/Parks

“A real sign that you’ve made it is when your couches aren’t against a wall”

"If your couch isn’t against a wall you are unimaginably rich" was posted on Twitter by conntent mcnett on October 3, 2019. That is, if a couch is not against a wall, the room is not…

April 19, 2021
Radio/Television

“A real smart TV would increase the volume when you start eating chips”

"A real smart TV would increase the volume when you start(ed) eating chips" is a saying that has been printed on many images. That is, a louder TV sound is needed to cover the sound of…

November 13, 2020
Radio/Television

“A real Smart TV would increase the volume when you started eating chips”

"A real smart TV would increase the volume when you start(ed) eating chips" is a saying that has been printed on many images. That is, a louder TV sound is needed to cover the sound of…

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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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