"keeping up with the joneses"

Posted by ESC on December 25, 2005

In Reply to: "Keeping up with the joneses" Posted by A. walker on December 25, 2005

: why would "pop" momand creater of the comic strip "keeping up with the joneses", create a phrase based on the joneses of new york city (frederic/lucretia), when the very town that he lived in on long island (cedarhurst), was founded (patented) by the long island joneses in the 17th century. the lineage of the new york joneses are hard to trace beyond the 19th century. it would seem that pop momand would have been well aware of the long and storied lineage of the long island joneses.

Beats me.

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 Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997).