The phrase "Keeping up with the Joneses" may have originated over 100 years ago, but it is still very relevant today. Keeping up with the Joneses synonyms, Keeping up with the Joneses pronunciation, Keeping up with the Joneses translation, English dictionary definition of Keeping up with the Joneses. To fail to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as demonstrating socio-economic or cultural inferiority. Link/Cite Link to this page. Slang n. 1. Trying to keep up with the Joneses is not only a bad way to determine your self worth, but it also leads to living beyond your means and can send you into debt. by buying the things they have. KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES -- "According to his own account, cartoonist Arthur R. ("Pop") Momand lived in a community where many people tried to keep up with the Joneses. When it comes to our teenagers and money, the phrase oftentimes rings true. How to use keep up with the Joneses in a sentence. Keeping up with the Joneses. Advertising. Get a Keeping up with the Joneses mug for your guy Georges. from Keeping Up With The Joneses (Cupples & Leon Company – New York, 1920) by ‘Pop’ Momand MEANING If you say that someone is keeping up with the Joneses, you mean that they are doing something in order to show that they have as much money as other people, rather than because they really want to do it. Joneses definition, one's neighbors, friends, business associates, etc. English Wiktionary. “Keeping up with the Joneses” was a common phrase in 20th century America that is still in use today. “Keeping up with the Joneses” is an old phrase going back to a comic strip published in the United States in the early 20th century. It refers to the practice of buying items to impress neighbors or increase social standing, rather than from a desire for the items themselves. Available under CC-BY-SA license. See more. Top definition keep up with the joneses unknown to strive beyond one's means to keep up socially and financially with others in one's social circle or neighborhood (from … It showed the lives of the McGinis family who were trying to social climb by keeping up with their neighbors, the Joneses. keeping up with the Joneses Attempting to live in the style of one’s more affluent neighbors or acquaintances. Pursue those things that bring you fulfillment and significance and meaning. This page is about the idiom keep up with the Joneses. Staying high to cure your drug habit. "Keeping up with the Joneses" is an idiom in many parts of the English-speaking world referring to the comparison to one's neighbor as a benchmark for social caste or the accumulation of material goods. Meaning, if you can’t afford to buy the hottest designer labels and go to the best restaurants, then you can’t sit at the cool kids lunch table. People who try to keep up with the Joneses are people who feel it's important to show that they're as successful as others (such as their rich neighbours, "The Joneses"). : Keeping up with the Joneses has put him in debt. keep up with the Joneses, to compete socially with one's neighbors or associates, esp. ORIGIN keep up with the Joneses. Present participle of keep up with the Joneses.... Definitions. The term was coined by Arthur R. (“Pop”) Momand, a cartoonist who used it as the title for a series run in the New York Globe from 1913, and in other papers as well, for several decades. The phrase, “Keeping up w/ the Joneses”, originates from a comic strip by the same name which was created by Arthur R. “Pop” Momand in 1913. keeping-up-with-the-joneses. Rather than trying to “keep up with the Joneses,” try to “keep up with the person you want to be.” You certainly won’t get there trying to live the Joneses’ life. As it turns out, the phrase "Keeping up with the Joneses" comes from a cartoon strip of that name that launched in 1913 and ran for 26 years. Verb. Keeping up with the Joneses means to strive to emulate the success of one’s peers, to show that one is as wealthy or as accomplished as one’s neighbors or peers. "Keeping up with the Joneses" is a phrase applied to competitive acquisition : trying to have all the new things that your neighbors have. Keep up with the Joneses definition is - to show that one is as good as other people by getting what they have and doing what they do. In the strip, creator "Pop" Momand poked fun at our need to do things in order to impress other people.