“Inflation is when you pay $10 for the $5 haircut you used to get for $2 when you had hair”
Franklin P. Jones (1908-1980), a public relations executive and humorist, published this jocular explanation of inflation in Quote magazine in 1974:
“It’s inflation when you have to pay $5 for the $2 haircut you used to get for $1 when you had hair.”
The prices often change in the saying—the haircut prices have become inflated over the years. “Inflation is when you pay $15 for the $10 haircut you used to get for $5 when you had hair.—Sam Ewing” was printed in The Wall Street Journal on November 4, 1997. American humorist Sam Ewing (1920-2001) is usually given credit for the saying since 2000, but this credit is incorrect.
Answers.com
Franklin P. Jones (1908 - 1980) was a Philadelphia reporter, public relations executive and humorist. He wrote quips and quotes that entertained readers of major publications for years.
Mr. Jones was known nationally during the 1940s and 50s for his column “Put it this Way” in the Saturday Evening Post. “Put it this Way” set a record as the longest continuously published feature in the Saturday Evening Post.
He was an accomplished “paragrapher” - a writer who condenses humorous or thought provoking ideas into paragraph form. His quips and quotes were published (often anonymously) in numerous publications, including Reader’s Digest, the Wall Street Journal, Changing Times and Quote magazine.
13 December 1974, Indianapolis (IN) Star, Earl Wilson syndicated entertainment column, pg. 69, col. 2:
REMEMBERED QUOTE: “It’s inflation when you have to pay $5 for the $2 haircut you used to get for $1 when you had hair.”—Franklin P. Jones, Quote.
26 October 1975, Press Register (Mobile, AL), “Almanac’s out for ‘76” by Lloyd Green (Chicago Sun-Times Service), pg. 10-A, col. 3:
“It’s inflation when you have to pay $5 for the $2 haircut you used to get for $1 when you had hair.”
15 January 1976, The Times-Recorder (Zanesville, OH), “Today’s Chuckle,” pg. 1, left masthead:
Inflation is when you have to pay $5 for the $3 haircut you used to get for 50 cents when you had hair.
Google Books
The Reader’s Digest
Volume 110
1977
Pg. 97:
It’s inflation when you have to pay $5 for the $2 haircut you used to get for $1 when you had hair — Franklin P. Jones in Quole Magazine
8 July 1977, The Journal-News (Hamilton, OH), pg. 13, col. 7:
INFLATION IS WHEN you pay $4 for a $2 haircut you used to get for $1 when you had hair!
25 November 1981, The State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL), “Quotables” by Toby McDaniel, pg. 13, col. 1:
Inflation is when a man has to pay $5 for a $2 haircut that he used to get for $1 when he had hair.
(Modern Maturity)
Google Books
How the Platform Professionals Keep ‘em Laughin’
By Jeanne Robertson and Robert Henry
Houston, TX: Rich Publishing Company
1987
Pg. 187:
It’s inflation when you pay $10 for the $2 haircut you used to get for $1 when you had hair.
7 September 1987, Toronto (ON) Star, “Car bumper wit, wisdom preoccupied with money” by George Gamester, pg. A2:
Or, to put it another way: INFLATION IS WHEN YOU PAY $10 FOR THE $5 HAIRCUT YOU USED TO GET FOR $2 WHEN YOU HAD HAIR.
4 November 1997, The Wall Street Journal (New York, NY), “Pepper…and Salt,” pg. A23, col. 1:
Head Lines
Inflation is when you pay $15 for the $10 haircut you used to get for $5 when you had hair.
—Sam Ewing.
2 August 2013, Great Falls (MT) Tribune, “Cryptoquote,” sec. M, pg. 8, col. 7:
Yesterday’s Cryptoquote: INFLATION IS WHEN YOU PAY FIFTEEN DOLLARS FOR THE TEN-DOLLAR HAIRCUT YOU USED TO GET FOR FIVE DOLLARS WHEN YOU HAD HAIR.—SAM EWING
Google Books
Body Idioms and More for Learners of English
By May Pare
BookBaby
2016
Pg. ?:
“Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for a ten-dollar haircut you used to get for five dollars when you had hair.” Sam Ewing (1920-2001), American writer, humorist
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Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for the ten-dollar haircut you used to get…
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12:15 PM - 9 May 2018