Origin of the Phrase Show According to Christine Ammer, The Facts on File Dictionary of Clichés, second edition (2006), the phrase has been around in the United States since approximately 1930:
As recently as Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English, eighth edition (1984), however, Partridge's informants had not pushed the coinage date earlier than 1945:
Early Occurrences Found in a Google Books Search A Google Books search turns up three pre-1930 matches for the phrase. From Howard Washingtom Odum, Rainbow Round My Shoulder: The Blue Trail of Black Ulysses (1928):
From Trans-communicator, volume 45 (1928) [combined snippets]:
And from Trans-communicator, volume 46 (1929) [snippet]:
But even older are “put their money where their faith is” (in Methodist Episcopal Church Year Book, 1881), “put your money where your interests are” (in The Railroad Telegrapher, page 1291, September 1905) and “put your money where your heart is” (in Publicity and Progress, 1915, and—as “put his money where his heart is”—in The Harvester World, April 1919). Perhaps one or more of these other phrases influenced the emergence of “put your money where your mouth is.” Or perhaps the notion of putting your money somewhere is so natural and commonplace in modern English that it was only a matter of time before the mouth came up as a suggested destination. For a discussion of the older, possibly related phrase "put up or shut up," see What is the origin and sense of the phrase “put up or shut up”? Where did put your money where your mouth come from?Origin of Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is
This expression first appeared in America in the 1930s or 1940s. The idea behind this idiom is that it is easy to talk about doing something, but it is harder to do something about it.
Where did the saying on the money come from?Most sources agree it has to do with horse racing, specifically the related bets. A winning horse would be 'on the money'. A losing one would be 'out of the money'.
What does mouth money mean?Social-media posts using the money mouth face emoji are usually celebrating or expressing some wishful thinking around money. It's also used in posts about jobs and sometimes represents the idea of “The Good Life.” But, we all know money can be a source of frustration, too.
|