believe it or not

Appearances to the contrary, it is true. Already a com- mon phrase by then, in December 1918, it became the title of a cartoon series originally drawn by Robert LeRoy Ripley (1893–1949). It appeared in American newspapers for many years and was continued even after Rip- ley’s death. Each drawing represented a seemingly unbelievable but allegedly true event or phenomenon, such as a two-headed chicken or a three-legged cat.

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everything in its place/season

See PLACE FOR EVERYTHING.

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everything but the kitchen sink

Virtually everything, implying things inappropriate as well as fitting. This term is thought to have originated in the early twentieth century and became very common after World War II. “[We] military services . . . are such perfectionists that we want everything but the kitchen sink in a weapon” (Wall Street Journal, 1958).

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every man Jack/mother’s son

Everyone without exception. The first term has been traced to Dickens’s Barnaby Rudge (1841) and has remained largely British. The second is considerably older, appearing in the Middle English legend of Kyng Alisaunder (c. 1300)—“Mekely ilka modir sound”—as well as in Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur (1485) and Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1596)—“That would hang us, every mother’s son.” It was surely a cliché by the time Gilbert and Sullivan had the Dra- goons sing, “The soldiers of our Queen are linked in friendly tether, Upon the battle scene they fight the foe together, There every mother’s son pre- pared to fight and fall is; the enemy of one the enemy of all is” (Patience, 1881).

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every man/everyone has his price

No one is immune to bribery or corruption. This expression has been traced to a speech given by Sir Robert Walpole in 1734, as reported in William Coxe’s Memoirs of the British statesman (1798). Walpole was castigating corrupt members of Parliament, whom he called pretended patriots and said, “All those men have their price.” However, another source printed in 1734 refers to the same expres- sion as “an old maxim.” Whatever the ultimate origin, this cynical view of politicians has survived and has long been applied to anyone, male or female, whose influence or loyalty could be bought.

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every man for himself

Everyone looks out for his or her best interest. Originally this phrase expressed approval. It appeared in Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale (“Ech man for him-self, ther is non other”), implying that if one did not look out for oneself no one else would. It was included in John Hey- wood’s 1546 proverb collection (“Praie and shifts eche one for himselfs, as he can, every man for himselfs, and God for us all”). This latter turn of phrase (with “God for all”) occurs with minor variations in numerous lan- guages, including French, German, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish. Slightly later versions changed God to the devil (see also DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST)—in print by 1574—and it is probably from this locution that the modern mean- ing of the cliché, describing not-so-admirable selfishness, is derived.

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every little bit helps

Any tiny contribution to a cause, collection, or undertaking can be useful. This expression began life, according to the Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, as “Everything helps, quoth the wren when she pissed into the sea,” dated 1590. Another version, “Every little helps,” appeared in print in 1791 (in O’Keeffe’s play, Wild Oats, 5.3, “Here—it’s not much! But every little helps”). “Bit” appears to have been added in America in the early twentieth century. A. W. Upfield used it in The Man of Two Tribes (1956): “Every little bit helps.”

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