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June 21, 2015
Work/Businesses

“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas”

Linus Pauling (1901-1994), a winner of both the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the Nobel Peace Prize, was indirectly quoted in September 1961: "The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot…

November 17, 2013
Work/Businesses

“The best way to predict the future is to design it”

'The best way to predict the future is to design it" has been credited since at least 2004 to futurst Buckminster Fuller (1895-1983). There is no evidence that Fuller ever said it.…

November 28, 2025
Exercise/Running/Health ClubsWork/Businesses

“The best weight to lose is the weight of other people’s opinions”

"The best weight you’ll ever lose is the weight of other people’s opinions of you" (or "The best weight to lose is the weight of other people’s opinions") is a saying that…

November 28, 2025
Exercise/Running/Health ClubsWork/Businesses

“The best weight you’ll ever lose is the weight of other people’s opinion of you”

"The best weight you’ll ever lose is the weight of other people’s opinions of you" (or "The best weight to lose is the weight of other people’s opinions") is a saying that…

November 28, 2025
Exercise/Running/Health ClubsWork/Businesses

“The best weight you’ll ever lose is the weight of other people’s opinions of you”

"The best weight you’ll ever lose is the weight of other people’s opinions of you" (or "The best weight to lose is the weight of other people’s opinions") is a saying that…

October 5, 2015
Work/Businesses

“The boss said I was tardy” (joke)

The word "tardy" (late) is not the same as the politically incorrect word "retard," but William Ader joked on Twitter on December 21, 2012: "Yesterday my boss asked why I…

September 3, 2013
Work/Businesses

“The brain starts working when you get up, and doesn’t stop until you get into the office”

A joke was told in Hardware Age in 1928 and was reprinted in many newspapers and magazines: "The human brain is a wonderful organ. It starts working the moment we get up in the morning, and…

August 5, 2013
Work/Businesses

“The brave don’t live forever, but the cautious don’t live at all”

"The brave don't live forever/long, but the cautious don't live at all" (or "Brave men don't live forever...") is a saying that has been printed on posters. The…

December 31, 2023
Work/Businesses

“The bright side of Christmas… Everyone at Walmart will be wearing new pajamas”

People often get new pajamas at Christmas. Walmart (a large retail chain store) does not have a strict dress code. "Everyone at Walmart will be wearing new pajamas" was posted on…

October 2, 2019
Work/Businesses

“The buck stops here” (accept responsibility)

"Pass the buck" means to avoid responsibility. "The buck stops here" means to accept responsibility. This was printed in the Lincoln (NE) Evening Journal on October 2, 1929:…

June 9, 2016
Work/Businesses

“The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work”

There's a joke about being a little behind in work: "The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work." The joke has been cited in print since at least…

December 27, 2025
Work/Businesses

“The captain of a yacht is a sails manager”

"Sales manager" shouldn't be confused with "sails manager," but there are jokes. "YES! Just been hired as a sails manager at the yacht club 🚣" was posted on…

April 18, 2018
Work/Businesses

“The cashier said, ‘Strip down, facing me.’ How was I to know she actually meant my debit card?”

A cashier joke has been printed on many images: "The cashier said, 'Strip down, facing me.' How was I to know she actually meant my debit card?" "And then another idiotic…

June 26, 2006
Work/Businesses

“The Center For Health in the Center of the World” & “Another Day, Another Breakthrough”

Mount Sinai Hospital was founded in 1852. "The Center For Health in the Center of the World" was first used in 2000. "Another Day, Another Breakthrough" is an even more recent…

April 1, 2021
Work/Businesses

“The CEO of IKEA was just elected president in Sweden. He should have his cabinet together…”

IKEA is a multinational conglomerate, that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture. Some of the furniture can be difficult to assemble. "In Sweden the CEO of IKEA was just elected…

March 12, 2019
Work/Businesses

“The comeback is always stronger than the setback”

"The comeback is always stronger than the setback" is a motivational saying that has been printed on many images "The comeback is stronger than the setback" was posted on…

April 21, 2008
Work/Businesses

“The Company You Love to Hate” (Con Edison)

'The Company You Love to Hate" was the cover caption of Fortune magazine's March 1966 story about Con Edison. The blackout of November 9, 1965 caused many New York City residents to…

February 5, 2020
Work/Businesses

“The coronavirus won’t last long because it was made in China”

China has a reputation for making a lot of cheaply made products. A joke about the 2019–20 Wuhan coronavirus outbreak has been printed on many images: "The coronavirus won't last long…

November 25, 2012
Work/Businesses

“The cream rises until it sours”

Dr. Laurence J. Peter, along with co-author Raymond Hull (1919-1985), wrote The Peter Principle (1969), stating "in a hierarchy every employee tend to rise to his level of incompetence."…

December 21, 2004
Work/Businesses

“The customer is always right” (business motto)

Who started the slogan "The customer is always right"? Was it department store founder Marshall Field (1834-1906) of Chicago? The first citations in 1905 seem to indicate this. "The…

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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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