Definify.com

Definition 2024


nobody_ever_went_broke_underestimating_the_taste_of_the_American_people

nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people

English

Alternative forms

Proverb

nobody ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people

  1. Americans, as a group, do not have good taste or sophistication and can be easily amused or distracted to produce financial benefit for someone.
    • 1982 June 13, Edwin McDowell, "About Books and Authors," New York Times (retrieved 13 Sep 2015):
      “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.

Usage notes

  • In a common variant version of this proverb, the term intelligence is used instead of taste.

See also

References

  1. Ralph Keyes, The Quote Verifier: Who Said What, Where, and When (2006), pp. 17-18.