Keeping up with the Joneses

Posted by Bob on January 17, 2002

In Reply to: 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?

"Keeping up iwth 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 Joneses ESC 01/18/02
  • Keeping Up with the Joneses R. Berg 01/18/02
    • Keeping Up with the Joneses Marian 01/18/02
      • Keeping Up with the Joneses ESC 01/18/02