From where does the American expression "Jones/Jonesing" originate?
489588
Keeping up with the Joneses is a popular phrase referring to the common desire to be seen to be as good as one's neighbours or friends, thus maintaining a favorable image in comparison with them. To fail to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as demonstrating one's socio-economic or cultural inferiority.\n\nAccording to The Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson, the origin of the phrase is rooted in the popular comic strip of the same name created by cartoonist Arthur R. "Pop" Momand. The strip debuted in 1913, ran in American newspapers for 28 years, and eventually was adapted into books, films, and musical comedies. The "Joneses" of the title were neighbors of the strip's main characters, and were spoken of but never actually appeared in person. It is possible that Momand named them in reference to George Frederic and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander Jones, parents of writer Edith Newbold Jones Wharton; it could also be due to the fact that "Jones" is a very common name, applying to a lot of "normal" people (hence the expression).
21646
BETWEEN A ROCK AND A HARD PLACE -- From "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" (1996): "Between a rock and a hard place. Forced to choose between two unpleasant options. The expression originated in the early twentieth century in the United States. It usually follows 'to be caught'." \n\nThe "Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins" by Robert Hendrickson (Fact on File, New York, 1997) says "the expression was probably born in Arizona during a financial panic early in this century."
671048
The correct spelling is anti-gogglin'.  "Anti" is the Greek prefix anti- 'against'.  "Goggle" is probably from the dialectal verb which means 'to squint, roll the eyes or the head' (from the 14th century).  This is the verb which gives us modern English "goggles".  The use of "anti-gogglin'" for 'slanted' probably comes from an extended meaning such as "you can tell it's crooked without squinting".
717505
The origin of the term is said to have come from the French word "conasse". During the Second World War, many Cajun men served in the armed forces. When in France, many of the French heard the Cajuns speaking in a French that was both very old and in a French that had some very odd words. The Frenchmen called the Cajuns "conasse" which translates to a very low-grade prostitute. I would think this comes from the fact that, although they spoke a form of French, the Cajuns weren't real Frenchmen.\n\nOf course, the "American" servicemen heard "conasse" as "CoonAss". In a world where "RedNeck" is heard often, "CoonAss" fits right in. Just like RedNeck, it wasn't originally used as a term of endearment. But many Cajuns carry it as a description of themselves as good as any other. In Louisiana, you can find vehicles with bumper stickers reading "Registered CoonAss" or "I'm a CoonAss, Me!" Wide spread use came about during the oil boom in Louisiana during the 60's and 70's.
26752
It's difficult to tell without the context, but I suspect that it's a reference to "keeping up with the Joneses".  Perhaps Benjamin is the name of someone in the context?
627130
This expression originated in the United States in about 1900. The phrase may have some Latin connection. When a Roman boy was in trouble, he cried ‘patrue mi Patruissime’ (‘Uncle my best of uncles’).
555893
It's slang from the UK & Ireland, a made up phrase to avoid cursing when surprised or annoyed.\n\nIt's also a slang term for a sexual position.
793676
Sorry you've had such rubbish answers. \n\nI'm usually quite good at this sort of thing, but I'm afraid I can't find any info on the origins of this phrase.\n\nI hope someone more knowledgeable answers you soon!
141560
Nobody actually knows where that phrase comes from.  There is an urban legend about where it came from that can be found here: http://www.snopes.com/language/stories/brass.htm
718003
Your question made me curious enough to do a little searching.  Turns out nobody is sure of where the term "Yankee" actually originated.  During the American Revolution, the Brits called us Yankees as a cut-down, and being the Americans they were, after they kicked the Brits butts, they adopted the term for themselves.  Perverse bunch, aren't we?  Best guess has to do with the Dutch being called Yankees well before our little party in 1776.
253153
CUT THE CHEESE -- Since the late 1800s "cut" in various phrases meant "to expel intestinal gas." 1899 - To cut one's finger, is to break wind. "Cut the cheese" is placed in 1965-70 by this source. "Dictionary of American Regional English," Volume 1 by Frederic G. Cassidy (1985, Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass., and London, England). Another reference says the phrase "cut the cheese" was used earlier but with a different meaning: 1895 Gore, Student Slang, 17: Cut no cheese. To have no weight or value. From "Random House Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Volume 1, A-G" by J.E. Lighter, Random House, New York, 1994. A third source says the expression originated in the "Mainstream 1950s." From "Flappers 2 Rappers: American Youth Slang" by Tom Dalzell (Merriam-Webster Inc., Springfield, Md., 1996).
621745
It is indeed rhyming slang, originally from the East End of London, but taken to Australia by English emigrants. The source is the phrase cobbler’s awl.\n\nAn awl is an ancient pointed tool for making holes in things, the most characteristic tool of any leatherworker; it was an essential part of the shoemaker’s kit, since he was forever piercing leather to sew pieces together. So a cobbler’s awl was as characteristic of his trade as his last, or foot-shaped anvil.\n\nThe rhyming slang linked cobbler’s awls with balls, that is, testicles. As was usual with such rhyming slang phrases, the first word later appeared on its own as a kind of half-disguised code, so cobblers! came to be used in the same way as balls!, as an exclamation of derision or disbelief, suggesting something was rubbish or nonsense. The examples in the big Oxford English Dictionary suggest that this last sense is actually quite recent, only being recorded in print from the 1950s onwards (though very probably older in the spoken language).\n\nA load of old cobblers is an intensification of that, once commonly heard in London as well as in Australia and also in other Commonwealth countries. Americans seem never to have got into the habit of using cobblers! (or indeed balls!), though British cop shows exported to North America have made both retorts familiar to many there.
542453
what a stupid question. What constitutes a "strange name". Maybe the name "Smith" or "Jones" is hilarious in some languages
997145
Carpenters used to use the width of their thumb as a measurement of one inch.  That is where the phrase came from.
343729
I don't know i am Flabbergasted! Joking!\n\nThe British comedian Frankie Howerd used to say in mock astonishment: “I’m flabbergasted—never has my flabber been so gasted!”. That’s about as good an explanation for the origin of this word as you’re likely to get. It turns up first in print in 1772, in an article on new words in the Annual Register. The writer couples two fashionable terms: “Now we are flabbergasted and bored from morning to night”. (Bored—being wearied by something tedious—had appeared only a few years earlier.) Presumably some unsung genius had put together flabber and aghast to make one word.\n\nThe source of the first part is obscure. It might be linked to flabby, suggesting that somebody is so astonished that they shake like a jelly. It can’t be connected with flapper, in the sense of a person who fusses or panics, as some have suggested, as that sense only emerged at the end of the nineteenth century. But flabbergasted could have been an existing dialect word, as one early nineteenth-century writer claimed to have found it in Suffolk dialect and another—in the form flabrigast— in Perthshire. Further than this, nobody can go with any certainty.
865879
Biblical origins. Think of St Peter. Think of the omnipresent medieval church and think of hitting your thumb with a hammer. You can't swear, else the local priests will have you up before the Bishop and the Lord alone knows what the outcome of that will be, so you exclaim, in appropriate tone of voice, "For Saint Peter's sake" and carry on erecting the shelves. This phrase was amended to "For Pete's Sake" in later, less religiously oppressive, times.\n: This is called a "minced oath," a substitution of a less offensive word. \nFOR PETE'S SAKE - The phrase is simply a polite version of a common and profane expression involving the name of Christ. We'd surmise that the original 'Pete' was St. Peter."  Substituting less offensive words - like Godfrey Daniel for the other GD - is called a minced oath.
63683
"Neck" had been used in English since around 1555 to describe a narrow strip of land, usually surrounded by water, based on its resemblance to the neck of an animal. But the Americans were the first to apply "neck" to a narrow stand of woods or, more importantly, to a settlement located in a particular part of the woods. In a country then largely covered by forests, your "neck of the woods" was your home, the first American neighborhood.