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in 1859 as being very fine in the style of a
Scottish castle, but by Edith Wharton, Elizabeth's niece, as a gloomy monstrosity. The villa reportedly spurred more building, including a house by William B. Astor (married to a Jones cousin), a phenomenon later described as "keeping up with the Joneses".
227:
made an allusion to Smith and Jones families with regard to social custom in the essay "Corn Pone
Opinions", written in 1901 but first published in 1923: "The outside influences are always pouring in upon us, and we are always obeying their orders and accepting their verdicts. The Smiths like the new
359:
there both gave rise to change. With the increasing availability of goods, people became more inclined to define themselves by what they possessed and the quest for higher status accelerated. Conspicuous consumption and
297:
A slightly different version is that the phrase refers to the grand lifestyle of the
Joneses who by the mid-century were numerous and wealthy, thanks to the Chemical Bank and Mason connection. It was their relation
367:
Inability to "keep up with the
Joneses" might result in dissatisfaction, even for people whose status is high. This could possibly tie in to a concept/theory called the "
271:, another prominent New York family to whom the Joneses were related. The houses became grander and grander. In 1853, Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones built a 24-room
341:, has diverted many resources away from investment in the manufacture of more material goods and services in order to satisfy consumer preoccupations with their
215:
to refer to metaphorical neighbors or friends in discussions of social comparison predates Momand's comic strip. In 1879, English writer E. J. Simmons wrote in
433:
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and others but the four hundred list published in 1892 contained many of the
Joneses and their relations—old money still mattered.
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306:", the list of the society elite who were invited. By then the Joneses were being eclipsed by the massive wealth of the
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as a place for social exchange: "The
Joneses, who don't associate with the Robinsons, meet there." American humorist
115:
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The phrase is also associated with another of Edith
Wharton's aunts, Mary Mason Jones, who built a large mansion at
1036:
1026:
703:
1041:
497:
883:
Mason, Roger (2000). "Conspicuous
Consumption and the Positional Economy: Policy and Prescription since 1970".
53:
303:
264:
185:
456:
198:
McGinis family, who struggle to "keep up" with their neighbors, the
Joneses of the title. The Joneses were
89:
140:
referring to the comparison of oneself to one's neighbor, where the neighbor serves as a benchmark for
846:(1994). "Keeping up with the Joneses: Consumption Externalities, Portfolio Choice, and Asset Prices".
330:
occurs when people care about their standard of living and its appearance in relation to their peers.
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247:'s father, the Joneses. The Joneses were a prominent New York family with substantial interests in
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is referred to as "Jonz", a nickname implying that they are superior to other drum lines.
391:'Keeping up with the Joneses' ... is descended from the spreading of the peacock's tail."
8:
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An alternative theory is that the
Joneses of the saying refer to the wealthy family of
190:
422:. The game's name and goals are a play on the concept of keeping up with the Joneses.
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who began the "patriarchs balls" around the end of the 19th century, the origin of "
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play; the Joneses go to see it, and they copy the Smith verdict." Starting in 1908,
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450:. The phrase is a line of the lyrics of the song "Life At The Top" by the band
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The philosophy of "keeping up with the Joneses" has widespread effects on some
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255:. The Joneses and other rich New Yorkers began to build country villas in the
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in society with the title "(Putting Up With) The Joneses" on the 1990 album
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recorded the song "Don't Let The Joneses Get You Down" on their 1969 album
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148:. Failure to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as a demonstration of
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and 57th Street, then undeveloped. Wharton portrays her affectionately in
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takes it name from this phrase, replacing "Joneses" with "Kardashians".
460:. The phrase appears in the songs "I Wanna Go Back" by Christian singer
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allegedly said: "At least we're keeping up with the Armstrong-Joneses".
932:"Money Only Makes You Happy If It Makes You Richer Than Your Neighbors"
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throughout the strip's run, often spoken of but never shown. The idiom
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as Mrs. Manson Mingott, "calmly waiting for fashion to flow north".
31:
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as a result of marrying the daughters of the bank's founder,
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The American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms, Second Edition
152:
or cultural inferiority. The phrase was coined by a 1910s
194:
and various other newspapers. The strip depicts the
56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
432:. The phrase is also referenced in the 1977 song "
808:
206:has remained popular long after the strip's end.
1018:
232:directed a series of comedy shorts starring The
485:The phrase is used as the title of a 2011–2014
364:have been an insatiable juggernaut ever since.
240:, featuring the people next door, The Joneses.
434:Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)
781:
351:once depended on one's family name; however,
812:The descendants of John Jones and John Mason
671:
669:
489:comedy-series and also a 2016 American film
21:Keeping up with the Joneses (disambiguation)
832:. D. Appleton-Century Company Incorporated.
725:The Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins
1007:
809:de Troubiand Post, Marie Caroline (1913).
628:. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. p. 251.
333:According to Roger Mason, "the demand for
738:"Why are We Keeping Up with the Joneses?"
675:
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506:Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps
464:on his 2017 album "Yellow Balloons" and "
116:Learn how and when to remove this message
963:
649:
647:
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436:" by Waylon Jennings. The Canadian band
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16:Idiom on comparing oneself to neighbors
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440:referenced the phrase in a song about
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653:Safire, William (November 15, 1998).
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398:married the fashionable photographer
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355:in the United States and the rise of
188:in 1913. The strip ran until 1940 in
849:Journal of Money, Credit and Banking
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54:adding citations to reliable sources
25:
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954:. Reynal and Hitchcock. Book. 1936
14:
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988:, Vol.34 No.12 (June 1969), p.65
885:Managerial and Decision Economics
655:"On Language; Up the Down Ladder"
524:Anthropological theories of value
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326:. According to this philosophy,
171:comic strip by Pop Momand, 1920.
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454:, included in their 1991 album
300:Mrs William Backhouse Astor, Jr
175:The phrase originates with the
41:needs additional citations for
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495:. The reality television show
387:writes that the phenomenon of
1:
678:"Keeping Up with the Joneses"
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65:"Keeping up with the Joneses"
788:. Random House. p. 22.
740:. Man of 300. Archived from
684:. Don Markstein's Toonopedia
394:In the United Kingdom, when
267:, which had belonged to the
154:comic strip of the same name
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999:Keeping Up with the Joneses
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492:Keeping Up with the Joneses
217:Memoirs of a Station Master
204:keeping up with the Joneses
181:Keeping Up with the Joneses
169:Keeping Up with the Joneses
130:Keeping up with the Joneses
10:
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663:. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
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622:Ammer, Christine (2013).
416:life simulation videogame
583:Social comparison theory
343:relative social standing
1037:Socio-economic mobility
1027:American English idioms
826:Wharton, Edith (1934).
676:Markstein, Don (2010).
529:Conspicuous consumption
400:Anthony Armstrong-Jones
339:conspicuous consumption
328:conspicuous consumption
144:or the accumulation of
1042:Quotations from comics
973:London Review of Books
969:"The Trouble with HRH"
782:Lee, Hermione (2013).
411:Jones in the Fast Lane
281:Henry Winthrop Sargent
186:Arthur R. "Pop" Momand
172:
138:English-speaking world
965:Hitchens, Christopher
504:The drum line of the
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136:in many parts of the
764:"Corn Pone Opinions"
723:Robert Hendrickson,
598:Transformative asset
571:Relative deprivation
476:) on his 2024 album
420:Sierra Entertainment
291:The Age of Innocence
209:The use of the name
50:improve this article
19:For other uses, see
921:Notre Dame magazine
539:Fear of missing out
952:The Next 100 Years
915:2008-03-07 at the
769:2013-01-16 at the
704:"Stripper's Guide"
660:The New York Times
438:Spirit of the West
385:Clifford C. Furnas
381:The Next 100 Years
375:In popular culture
191:The New York World
173:
829:A Backward Glance
795:978-1-84595-201-3
682:www.toonpedia.com
635:978-0-547-67658-6
396:Princess Margaret
379:In the 1936 book
369:hedonic treadmill
238:Florence Lawrence
200:unseen characters
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466:Pour Me a Drink
447:Save This House
426:The Temptations
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345:and prestige".
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39:This article
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746:. Retrieved
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709:12 September
707:. Retrieved
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686:. Retrieved
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479:F-1 Trillion
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48:Please help
43:verification
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844:GalĂ, Jordi
603:Veblen good
555:The Joneses
472:(featuring
470:Post Malone
452:Bad English
418:created by
362:materialism
357:consumerism
312:Vanderbilts
269:Livingstons
177:comic strip
1021:Categories
856:(1): 1–8.
610:References
462:David Dunn
442:disability
414:is a 1990
277:Wyndcliffe
261:Rhinecliff
253:John Mason
225:Mark Twain
106:March 2022
76:newspapers
519:Affluenza
487:Barbadian
402:in 1960,
324:societies
265:Rhinebeck
913:Archived
767:Archived
688:June 23,
566:Rat race
512:See also
457:Backlash
132:" is an
870:2078030
561:Mimesis
259:around
219:of the
160:Origins
90:scholar
1006:
868:
792:
748:20 May
632:
308:Astors
273:gothic
92:
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866:JSTOR
468:" by
212:Jones
134:idiom
97:JSTOR
83:books
1004:IMDb
790:ISBN
750:2018
711:2015
690:2016
630:ISBN
263:and
69:news
1002:at
986:Jet
893:doi
858:doi
371:."
52:by
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