Editor's Corner

Dear Editrix,

Where did the phrase “bang for the buck” come from?

Mr. U.

Dear Mr. U,

I was a little worried about where this research might take me, but I was happily surprised to find a nice article on Wikipedia about this idiom. Here’s what they had to say:

Bang for the buck is an idiom meaning the worth of one’s money or exertion. The phrase originated from the slang usage of the words "bang" which means "excitement" and "buck" which means "money." Variations of the term include "bang for your buck," "bang for one’s buck," "more bang for the buck," "bigger bang for the buck," and mixings of these. "More bang for the buck" was preceded by "more bounce to the ounce," an advertising slogan used in 1950 to market the carbonated soft drink Pepsi.

The phrase "bigger bang for the buck" was notably used by U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Secretary of Defense, Charles Erwin Wilson, in 1954. He used it to describe the New Look policy of depending on nuclear weapons, rather than a large regular army, to keep the Soviet Union in check. Today, the phrase is used to mean a greater worth for the money used.

Kara Church

Technical Editor, Advisory

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