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"Keeping up with the Joneses" is an idiom in many parts of the English-speaking world referring to the comparison of oneself to one's neighbor, where the neighbor serves as a benchmark for social class or the accumulation of material goods. Failure to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as a demonstration of socio-economic or
Keeping up with the Joneses means constantly working to match your neighbors when it comes to spending and social status. This common idiom symbolizes the invisible, often unspoken competition to appear just as successful or affluent as those around us.
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Definition: If you keep up with the Joneses, you try to do the same things as your neighbors to appear as successful as they are and not be outdone by them. Failing to “keep up with the Joneses” is seen as showing some kind of inferiority.
[1] “Keeping up with the Joneses” is an idiom, or popular phrase, that refers to the pressure to “keep up” with your neighbor’s social status, wealth, or popularity. It refers to the way people constantly compare themselves to a neighbor and strive to accumulate the same material goods. The origins of this phrase are not exactly clear.
keep up with the ˈJoneses. (informal, disapproving) try to have all the possessions and social achievements that your neighbours or other people around you have, especially by buying what they buy: First the Smiths got a swimming pool, and now their neighbours, the Sinclairs, are building one.
“Keeping up with the Joneses” is striving to match one’s neighbours in spending and social standing. What's the origin of the phrase 'Keeping up with the Joneses'? This term is 20th century American.
keep up with the Joneses meaning: 1. to always want to own the same expensive objects and do the same things as your friends or…. Learn more.
