<P> The phrase originates with the comic strip Keeping Up with the Joneses , created by Arthur R. `` Pop '' Momand in 1913 . The strip ran until 1940 in The New York World and various other newspapers . The strip depicts the social climbing McGinis family , who struggle to `` keep up '' with their neighbors , the Joneses of the title . The Joneses were unseen characters throughout the strip 's run , often spoken of but never shown . The idiom keeping up with the Joneses has remained popular long after the strip 's end . </P>
where does the saying keeping up with the jones come from
the comic strip Keeping Up with the Joneses