nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people en · X
Etymology
Widely attributed to American author and social critic H. L. Mencken (1880–1956) but not found in his published works, so the source and original form of this expression are not known with certainty.
Meanings
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Americans, as a group, do not have good taste or sophistication and can be easily amused or distracted to produce financial benefit for someone.
“I remembered that nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public, so I set out to write the worst novel it was humanly possible to write and still get published,” he said.
1982 June 13, Edwin McDowell, “About Books and Authors”, in New York Times, retrieved 13 Sep 2015:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public | alternative | lexicographic | |
| no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people | alternative | lexicographic |
Relateds
nobody ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people