The Big Apple
About Archives Categories Index Search
About Archives Categories Index Search

April 12, 2012
Food/Drink

“A diet is when you watch what you eat and wish you could eat what you watch”

Dieters are often told to "watch what you eat." Leonard Lyons' syndicated newspaper column "The Lyons Den" reported in May 1973 that the comic actress Hermione Gingold…

January 16, 2012
Pets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)Sports/Games

“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…

April 26, 2023
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A digital ID is not to identify yourself. It is to track and trace your every move”

Digital ID has the advantage of convenience, but there are some privacy disadvantages. "A DIGITAL ID IS NOT TO IDENTIFY YOURSELF. IT'S TO TRACK AND TRACE YOUR EVERY MOVE" (shown on…

June 18, 2015
Transportation

“A dining car is a chew-chew train”

"Chew-chew train" (for "choo-choo train") is an old joke. "This is presumably the dining car of a chew-chew train" was cited in the New York (NY) Times in 1916. A…

August 20, 2012
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman’s birthday but never remembers her age”

"A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age" (or "...but forgets her age") is a jocular saying that has been cited in print…

June 8, 2016
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A diplomat is a person who can be disarming even though his country isn’t”

One definition of a diplomat comes from the Cold War: "A diplomat is a person who can be disarming even though his country isn't." The Saturday Evening Post of February 16, 1956…

December 21, 2010
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A diplomat is a person who can tell you to go to hell so that you look forward to the trip”

"Diplomat -- one who can tell you to go to hades and make you look forward to the trip" has been cited in print since at least 1953 and is of unknown authorship. Caskie Stinnett…

August 12, 2012
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A diplomat is anyone who thinks twice before saying nothing”

"Diplomat: A gent who thinks twice before he says nothing" is a jocular saying that has been cited in print since at least August 1953. Another version is, ""A diplomat is…

November 21, 2012
Government/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“A diplomat’s life is made up of three ingredients: protocol, Geritol and alcohol”

"A diplomat's life is made up of three ingredients: protocol, Geritol and alcohol" was a popular saying of at least two statesmen in the 1950s and 1960s. (Geritol is a trademarked…

August 25, 2017
Restaurants/Bars/Coffeehouses/Food Stores

“A doctor walks into a bar…” (“hickory daiquiri doc” bar joke)

"A guy walks into a bar..." is a typical form of what has been called the "bar joke." A form of this joke has a doctor entering a bar and ordering his usual daiquiri, but the…

October 3, 2024
Pets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)

“A dog is one of the few things in life that is as it seems”

"A dog is one of the few things in life that is exactly what it seems" (or "A dog is one of the few things in life that is as it seems" is a saying about dogs that has been…

July 17, 2024
Pets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)

“A dog is one of the few things in life that is exactly as it seems”

"A dog is one of the few things in life that is exactly what it seems" (or "A dog is one of the few things in life that is as it seems" is a saying about dogs that has been…

October 3, 2024
Pets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)

“A dog is one of the few things in life that is exactly what it seems”

"A dog is one of the few things in life that is exactly what it seems" (or "A dog is one of the few things in life that is as it seems" is a saying about dogs that has been…

October 23, 2022
Pets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)Transportation

“A dog may be man’s best friend, but he won’t pick you up at the airport”

A dog has often been called "man's best friend." However, a dog cannot do many things that a best friend usually does, and there are jokes. "Yeah but will it pick you up at the…

October 23, 2022
Pets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)Transportation

“A dog may be your best friend, but they won’t pick you up at the airport”

A dog has often been called "man's best friend." However, a dog cannot do many things that a best friend usually does, and there are jokes. "Yeah but will it pick you up at the…

January 28, 2020
Pets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)Workers/People

“A dog prepares you for kids. A cat prepares you for teenagers”

"Dogs prepare you for babies. Cats prepare you for teenagers" is a saying that has been printed on several images. Teenagers (and cats) can understand better than babies (and dogs), but…

January 28, 2018
Media/Newspapers/Magazines/InternetPets (Dogs, Cats, Horses)

“A dog walks into a telegram office…” (joke)

People don't send telegrams anymore. However, a "dog walks into a telegram/telegraph office" joke has been popular since at least 1984. Google BooksJokes: Outrageous bits, atrocious…

March 23, 2021
Food/Drink

“A donut is just a dessert bagel”

Donuts/Doughnuts have been compared to bagels. "doughnuts = dessert bagels" was posted on Twitter by Stu Ruston on January 3, 2021. "'donuts are dessert bagels'-…

March 23, 2021
Food/Drink

“A doughnut is just a dessert bagel”

Donuts/Doughnuts have been compared to bagels. "doughnuts = dessert bagels" was posted on Twitter by Stu Ruston on January 3, 2021. "'donuts are dessert bagels'-…

November 18, 2021
Work/Businesses

“A dressmaker sews what she gathers; a farmer gathers what he sows”

Entry in progress -- BP Newspapers.com6 September 1900, Grant County Tribune (Hyannis, NE), pg. 7, col. 3:A farmer gathers what he sows while a seamstress sews what she gathers. TwitterAltrincham…

First
Previous
27 28 29 30 31
Next
Last

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.

Read more About the Website and Editor
About
Privacy Policy
RSS

© 2026 Barry Popik. All rights reserved.