Re: Keeping
Up with the Joneses
Posted by R. Berg on January
18, 2002 In Reply to: Re: Keeping Up with the
Joneses posted by ESC on January 18, 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?
: : "Keeping up with
the Joneses" has a much longer history than "Jones," meaning habit. The latter
originated in Afro-American slang, made more popular/widespread by the song "I've
Got a Basketball Jones," a few years back. I don't believe there's a connection.
(By the way, last I heard, Johnson was the most common American surname. The single
most common name in the UK is David Jones.)
: KEEPING UP WITH THE JONES -- "According
to his own account, cartoonist Arthur R. ("Pop") Momand lived in a community where
many people tried to keep up with the Joneses. Momand and his wife resided in
Cedarhurst, New York, one of Long Island's Five Towns, where the average income
is still among America's highest. Living 'far beyond our means in our endeavor
to keep up with the well-to-do class,' the Momands were wise enough to quit the
scene and move to Manhattan, where they rented a cheap apartment and 'Pop' Momand
used his Cedarhurst experience to create his once immensely popular 'Keeping Up
with the Joneses' comic strip, launched in 1913. Momand first thought of calling
the strip 'Keeping Up with the Smiths,' but 'finally decided on 'Keeping Up with
the Joneses' as being more euphonious.' His creation ran in American newspapers
for over 28 years and appeared in book, movie, and musical-comedy form, giving
the expression 'keeping up with the Joneses' the wide currency that made it a
part of everyday language." From "The Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins"
by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997).
A cheap apartment in
Manhattan? Uh . . .
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