Keeping up with the Joneses 🏃‍♀️💰🏡

Meaning

Trying to match the social status and material possessions of one's neighbors or peers.

Origin

The phrase originated in Arthur "Pop" Momand's comic strip, "Keeping Up with the Joneses," which first appeared in 1913. The strip humorously depicted the McGinis family's relentless efforts to emulate the lifestyle of their unseen, but apparently wealthier and more sophisticated, neighbors, the Joneses. It perfectly captured a common societal aspiration and anxiety of the time, and the catchy title quickly entered the wider vocabulary as a shorthand for this very human tendency to compare oneself to others and strive for social parity.

📅🕰️ 20th 21st century 💰 money 💪🙏 pride

Keeping up with the Joneses represented with emoji🏃‍♀️💰🏡

This playful arrangement of running, money, and a house functions as a delightful visual riddle, challenging us to reconcile the universal aspiration for material comfort with the relentless pursuit of more. It gently nudges us to consider the societal currents that drive us, suggesting a narrative where the desire to run ahead financially and live in a grander home becomes a defining characteristic of modern ambition.

Examples

  • They felt pressured into buying a bigger house, just keeping up with the Joneses.
  • She always felt like she was keeping up with the Joneses, constantly buying new clothes.
  • The knight realized his dragon was a bit small compared to his neighbor's, and he found himself keeping up with the Joneses, albeit in a fantastical way.
  • After seeing the wizard next door conjure a sentient garden gnome, Bartholomew sighed and started researching enchanted topiary, clearly keeping up with the Joneses.

Frequently asked questions

Is 'keeping up with the Joneses' a proverb or an idiom?

'Keeping up with the Joneses' is best described as an idiom. It's a figurative expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the literal meaning of its words, much like a proverb, but it specifically refers to a social phenomenon rather than a general truth or piece of advice.

What's the opposite of 'keeping up with the Joneses'?

The opposite of 'keeping up with the Joneses' could be 'living within one's means' or a sense of 'contentment.' These phrases describe a mindset focused on personal satisfaction and financial stability, rather than external comparison and material acquisition.

Did the Joneses in the comic strip ever appear?

No, the Joneses in Arthur Momand's comic strip famously remained unseen. Their absence was key to the humor, allowing them to represent an idealized, aspirational lifestyle that the McGinis family desperately tried to emulate.

Can 'keeping up with the Joneses' apply to things other than money or possessions?

Yes, the concept of 'keeping up with the Joneses' can definitely extend beyond material wealth to include social standing, career success, children's achievements, or even lifestyle choices and experiences. It's fundamentally about perceived social comparison and the desire to match or exceed the perceived success of others in any domain.

Similar to "keeping up with the Joneses"

Living beyond one's means
Both are about social comparison and overspending, but 'living beyond one's means' specifically points to the financial unsustainability of the effort, whereas 'keeping up with the Joneses' emphasizes the social race itself
The rat race
Both describe a relentless, often exhausting, competition, but 'the rat race' is broader, encompassing career and professional striving, while 'keeping up with the Joneses' is narrowly focused on material status symbols
Pimping your ride
Both are about displaying wealth and status through possessions, but 'pimping your ride' is a much more specific, slang-driven, and flashy version focused on automobiles, whereas 'keeping up with the Joneses' is a general, established idiom for any kind of conspicuous consumption

Opposite of "keeping up with the Joneses"

Contentment
This argues for finding satisfaction in what one has, directly opposing the ceaseless desire for more that drives 'keeping up with the Joneses', suggesting true peace lies in detachment, not emulation
Blissful ignorance
This champions deliberately averting one's gaze from the perceived successes of others, a stark contrast to the hyper-awareness of neighbors' possessions that fuels 'keeping up with the Joneses', proposing that not knowing is a path to happiness
Frugality
This advocates for saving and wise spending, directly challenging the excessive consumption inherent in 'keeping up with the Joneses', framing it as a virtue that builds security rather than a vice that chases fleeting status

Related to "keeping up with the Joneses"

Conspicuous consumption
This academic term describes the very behavior that 'keeping up with the Joneses' embodies – flaunting wealth to signal status – but with a sociological lens rather than a folksy, everyday expression
Social climbing
While 'keeping up with the Joneses' focuses on matching peers, 'social climbing' implies a more deliberate and ambitious ascent through societal ranks, often involving strategic networking as much as material display
The Joneses
This is the singular, foundational unit: the enigmatic, aspirational neighbors whose lifestyle becomes the benchmark for the pressure felt in 'keeping up with the Joneses'
Class warfare
This phrase represents a broader societal conflict where the competition highlighted in 'keeping up with the Joneses' can be seen as a micro-level manifestation of larger economic and status struggles between different societal groups