The phrase "Keeping Up with the Joneses" was the title of a comic
strip in the early part of the 20th Century, and some sources offer
this as the origin of the phrase:
"Keeping up with the Joneses is a popular phrase in the United States
referring to the common desire to maintain a favorable image in
comparison with one's neighbors or contemporaries. To fail to 'keep up
with the Joneses' is to demonstrate one's socioeconomic or cultural
inferiority.
According to 'The Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins' by Robert
Hendrickson, the origin of the phrase is rooted in the 1913 comic
strip of the same name created by cartoonist Arthur R. 'Pop' Momand.
The strip ran in American newspapers for 28 years, and eventually
appeared in books, films, and musical comedies."
Wikipedia: Keeping up with the Joneses
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeping_up_with_the_Joneses
"The originator of 'Keeping up with the Joneses' was Arthur R Momand,
also known as 'Pop' Momand.
He was the originator of a cartoon strip about the Joneses which
appeared in US newspapers between 1913 and 1931.
He was going to called it 'Keeping up with the Smiths' but changed his mind.
Some sources say it was because his own neighbours were called the
Smiths and he didn't want to offend them.
Others say it was because he thought Joneses was 'more euphonious'."
ToadShow: Origin of 'Keeping up with the Joneses'
http://www.toadshow.com.au/01_cms/details.asp?t_id=57&view_mode=search&k_id=80
"Keeping up with the Jones's
Meaning: Maintaining an appearance of affluence and wealth for the
benefit of others.
Example: In this world people don't respect you for accumulating
wealth, they respect you for spending it. Most people who seem rich
have very little wealth, they spend it all keeping up with the
Jones's.
Origin: Jones is an extremely common surname in the United States and
in this phrase is meant to be a generic term for the neighbors. The
phrase makes much more sense when you say 'keeping up with the
neighbors.
It is a common practice in suburbia for neighbors to be fiercely
competitive, and to continually try to have the nicest of everything
in the neighborhood.
'Keeping up with the Joneses' was the title of a comic strip that ran
in many U.S. newspapers from 1914 to 1958 by Arthur R. ('Pop') Morand.
The strip chronicled his experiences living in suburbia."
Joe-ks: Phrases, Clichés, Expressions & Sayings
http://www.joe-ks.com/phrases/phrasesK.htm
However, there is speculation that the phrase may have already been in
existence when the comic strip was created. Here is an interesting
theory related to the family of writer Edith Wharton:
"According to Shari Benstock's No Gifts from Chance, 'Sometime before
she was three years old, Edith [Wharton] visited her father's stern,
unmarried sister, Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones, at Wyndcliffe, her
eighty-acre estate on the Hudson River... In 1852, she built a
twenty-four-room turreted villa, the most expensive house ever before
built in Rhinecliff, New York. Such display of wealth, it was said,
gave rise to the expression 'keeping up with the Joneses' (26).
Benstock gives as her source a New York State Conservation
Association pamphlet on the house, p. 157."
The Edith Wharton Society: Queries
http://guweb2.gonzaga.edu/faculty/campbell/wharton/queries99.htm
"The house that originally spawned the term 'keeping up with the
Joneses' and which led to the building of gaudy mansions on the Hudson
river is collapsing and in disrepair... Wyndclyffe. The house was
built in 1853 by Edith Wharton?s spinster aunt, Elizabeth Schermerhorn
Jones, and kicked off a flurry of mansion building up the Hudson River
valley. Wyndclyffe sported a four-story tower, 24 rooms, 80 acres of
lawn and 'sweeping river views.'
After the completion of the Jones house, turret towers and extra wings
began appearing on nearby homes - hence the now-famous phrase,
'keeping up with the Joneses.' Nowadays, the maxim illustrates the
modern desire of suburban Americans to keep up appearances... by
taking out home equity loans to buy Humvees and home theater systems."
Escape Artist: The Mystery of Wyndclyffe
http://www.escapeartist.com/efam/51/THE_MYSTERY_OF_WYNDCLYFFE.html
Google search strategy:
Google Web Search: "keeping up with the joneses" origin
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22keeping+up+with+the+joneses%22+origin
Thanks for an enjoyable question! If anything is unclear or
incomplete, I'll be glad to offer further assistance.
Best regards,
pinkfreud |
