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Keeping up with the Joneses
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<p>"Keeping up with the Joneses" is an <a href="/facts/Idiom/JaAk3qnW">idiom</a> in many parts of the <a href="/facts/English-speaking_world/qaq1SXu4">English-speaking world</a> referring to the comparison of oneself to one's neighbor, where the neighbor serves as a benchmark for <a href="/facts/Social_class/gJbHDVNc">social class</a> or the accumulation of <a href="/facts/Tangible_property/gWwKyynT">material goods</a>. Failure to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as a demonstration of <a href="/facts/Socioeconomic_mobility_in_the_United_States/r8EB86sR">socio-economic</a> or cultural inferiority. The phrase was coined by a 1910s <a href="/facts/Keeping_Up_with_the_Joneses_(comics)/whkICAoq">comic strip of the same name</a>. </p>