Keeping
up with the Joneses
Posted by Marian on January
17, 2002 I understand this phrase to mean keeping up at least
the appearance of wealth or class to the roughly equivalent degree that one's
neighbors exhibit same, particularly in terms of the display of physical possessions.
The earlier discussion of Jonesing, and particularly the noun, Jones, made me
wonder if there was a connection, since both the noun Jones and the phrase "keeping
up with the Joneses" seem to hinge on acquisition. On the other hand, "Jones"
is quite a common surname in the U.S., and I had previously assumed that "keeping
up with the Joneses" was phrased with "Joneses" in it to impart the ubiquity of
the phenomenon. Any ideas on whether ubiquity or acquisitivity is the guiding
principle here?
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