“If you’ve met one autistic person, you’ve met one autistic person”
"If you've met one autistic person, you've met one autistic person" (or, "If you've met one person with autism, you've met one person with autism") means…
“Mississippi: “What has four eyes and cannot see?”/“Mississippi.”
"Mississippi" (state and river) has four "I's" (eyes). "Four eyes" is also a term for someone who wears glasses. "An infant says the Mississippi is always…
“The reason Uncle Sam has to wear such a tall hat is that he’s always passing it around”
A jocular line about Uncle Sam appeared in Earl Wilson's syndicated entertainment column in January 1962: "'We wondered,' said Arnold Glasow, 'why Uncle Sam wore such a…
“What’s red, white, black and blue?”/“Uncle Sam falling down the stairs.”
An Uncle Sam riddle is: Q: What's red, white, black and blue? A: Uncle Sam falling down the stairs. "Red, white and blue" are the colors of the American flag and also the traditional…
Alabama: Lizard (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Google BooksApril 1845, Cincinnati Miscellany (Cincinnati, OH), pg. 240, col. 1:Alabama, Lizards. Chronicling America23 August 1845, Ripley (MS) Advertiser, pg. 1, cols.…
Alabama: Yellowhammer State (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. OCLC WorldCat recordAlabama : the yellowhammer stateAuthor: Marathon Oil Company.; Rand McNally and Company.; Rand McNally Collection (Newberry Library)Publisher:…
Alaska: The Last Frontier (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)last frontier n. (a) orig. and chiefly U.S. that part of a country, region, etc., which is the last to be settled, explored, or developed; spec.…
Arizona: “In Arizona we salt margaritas, not sidewalks”
A margarita cocktail is often served in a glass with a salted rim. A cold climate area might use salt on sidewalks and roads to prevent icing. "We salt margaritas, not sidewalks" (or…
Arizona: Valentine State (nickname)
Arizona is called the "Valentine State" because it was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1912 -- Valentine's Day. U.S. President William Howard Taft purposely chose the special…
Arkansas: “Arkansas is just Kansas for pirates”
The name of the state of "Arkansas" also contains the name of the state of "Kansas." There is "Ar" that is added, and this is something that a pirate might say.…
Arkansas: “Arkansas is the only state mentioned in the Bible” (joke)
It is sometimes claimed that Arkansas is the only state mentioned in the Bible because Noah looked out of the "Ark and saw." "When was Noah in America? When he was on the…
Arkansas: Bear State (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)Bear State n. U.S. the state of Arkansas (occas. also California).1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms App. s.v., I once asked a Western man…
Arkansas: Land of Opportunity (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Land of opportunityThe land of opportunity is a phrase used to suggest that a place presents many possibilities for people to earn a prosperous living, and…
Arkansas: The Natural State (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & CultureState Nicknamesaka: Official State Nickname(...)In the early 1940s, a group of Little Rock (Pulaski County) businessmen…
Arkansas: Toothpick or Toothpicker (nickname)
An "Arkansas toothpick" is a jocular name for a dagger-like blade, similar to a Bowie knife. It was famous for ending fights, not picking teeth. "Arkansas tooth pick" was cited…
Arkansas: Wonder State (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & CultureState Nicknamesaka: Official State Nickname(...)In the early 1940s, a group of Little Rock (Pulaski County) businessmen…
Aunt Samantha (wife of Uncle Sam)
"Uncle Sam" has symbolized the "United States" (both have the initials "U.S.") since 1812. It wasn't until 100 years later that anyone thought to give him a wife.…
Aunt Sammy (sister of Uncle Sam)
“Aunt Sammy” was a radio character created by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Human Nutrition and Home Economics in 1926 to educate homemakers. The show was renamed…
Autism (summary)
My sister has a son with "autism." On October 12, 2002, I first posted this to the American Dialect Society list, then re-posted it to alt.support.autism. The Oxford English Dictionary…
Brother Jonathan (summary)
"Brother Jonathan" was an early representation of an American or of the United States, later replaced with "Uncle Sam." Brother Jonathan was the opposite of the personification…