Keeping up with the Joneses
Keeping up with the Joneses is a popular phrase in many parts of the English-speaking world referring to the common desire to be seen to be as good as one's neighbours or contemporaries, thus maintaining a favourable image in comparison with them. To fail to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as demonstrating one's socio-economic 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. It is possible that the "Joneses" in reference were George Frederic and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander Jones, parents of writer Edith Newbold Jones Wharton.
A related phrase is Keeping up appearances, which is also the title of a British television sit-com on this theme. this theme.
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Categories: English phrases