Jones-ing It...

Posted by ESC on October 19, 1999

In Reply to: Jones-ing It... posted by Casey on October 19, 1999

: I heard someone (from the south) use this expression when describing another employee's performance. It wasn't said in a very positive tone, so I was wondering if anyone out there had any idea exactly what it means, and where it came from.

: The closest I came up with was Keeping Up with the Joneses, but I don't know if they are related.

I looked in several slang books including one on southern speech and one called Black Talk: Words and Phrases from the Hood to the Amen Corner, but only references I could find were "Jones," meaning a drug habit or craving, and "Jones" or "Mr. Jones" for penis.

I like your idea about keeping up with the Jones. Maybe it means "getting above your raisin'" or "putting on the dog" or "talking big and acting rich."

• Found it ESC 10/21/99