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phrases that use names

Posted by R. Berg on July 20, 2006

In Reply to: phrases that use names posted by ESC on July 19, 2006

: : I'm looking for phrases that use names. For instance, "You don't know Jack" "Johnny One Better" etc. Favorites?

: "...from the 1920s through the 1940s 'Joe' began to rival 'John' as the popular name for any typical guy. ('Joe Zilch' was a 1920s term, 'Joe College' and 'Joe Blow' are from the 1930s, and 'a good Joe,' 'an ordinary Joe,' and 'Joe Doakes' reached their peak popularity in the 1940s.)." From I Hear America Talking: An Illustrated History of American Words and Phrases by Stuart Berg Flexner (Von Nostrand Reinhold Co., New York, 1976).

For Pete's sake (explained in the archives), Johnny One-Note, Casper Milquetoast, Uncle Sam, lazy Susan,...

The "Meanings and Origins" section of this site may have more.

~rb

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