Re: Keeping
Up with the Joneses
Posted by Marian on January
18, 2002 In Reply to: Re: Keeping Up with the
Joneses posted by R. Berg 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 . . .
Euphony! I love it.
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