Who are "the Jones'"?

Question

When people say that you are loaded "Like the Jones'", what exactly do they mean by that? As my husband would say..."Who are the Jones'?"

Answer 1

it's a generic term like you are trying to keep up with the people next door and compete with the Jones - it is like John Doe - but instead a fictitious other family or couple. People use it realtive to status and comparison in keeping up with what everyone else has, is buying etc...
Sounds like it has morphed a little bit, in making an assumption that the Jones' are the wealthy fictitious family evryone is trying to be like. - big house, big job, BMW, 2.5 kids etc...

Answer 2

Jones is a very common last name. "Like the Jones" can be use when speaking about people in general or when you don't want to say someones name.

Answer 3

Keeping up with the Joneses is a popular phrase in many parts of the English-speaking world referring to the common desire to be seen to be as good as one's neighbours or contemporaries, thus maintaining a favourable image in comparison with them. To fail to "keep up with the Joneses" is perceived as demonstrating one's socio-economic or cultural inferiority.

According to The Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson, the origin of the phrase is rooted in the popular comic strip of the same name created by cartoonist Arthur R. "Pop" Momand. The strip debuted in 1913, ran in American newspapers for 28 years, and eventually was adapted into books, films, and musical comedies. The "Joneses" of the title were neighbors of the strip's main characters, and were spoken of but never actually appeared in person. It is possible that Momand named them in reference to George Frederic and Lucretia Stevens Rhinelander Jones, parents of writer Edith Newbold Jones Wharton; it could also be due to the fact that "Jones" is a very common name, applying to a lot of "normal" people (hence the expression).

Answer 4

They are fictional people made up to use as an example. The proverbial Jones'. They are not real.

Answer 5

the jones next door...u gotta keep up with them

Answer 6

The proverbial neighbors who are more well off than you. Their yard is also the place where the grass is greener.

Answer 7

i dont know that a good ?

Answer 8

I DONT KNOW