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To compare oneself and one’s possessions to one’s neighbor and go out of one’s way to exhibit the same level of wealth or social status.
There are several contenders for the origin of this idiom. One possibility is that the phrase was inspired by Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones, a wealthy, unmarried, socialite. She had a mansion built for her in Duchess County, New York, in the 1850s. Dubbed Wyndcliffe Castle, the nearly 8,000 square foot, 28-room edifice was a weekend and summer residence designed for her by famous architect George Veitch. Edith Wharton spent time there, and it inspired her novel, Hudson River Bracketed (1929). Although the author considered it ugly, it was sufficiently grand to inspire Jones’s neighbors to build even bigger houses, thereby raising speculation that Ms. Jones is the “Jones” referred to in the phrase.
Another theory claims the Joneses in question were Pembroke and Sarah Jones of Wilmington, North Carolina. Both were scions of “old money” — wealth that had been built up over the decades. They were considered the richest of the rich, one of the 19th-century’s power couples. They invested primarily in real estate, purchasing properties in affluent locales in New York, Long Island, and North Carolina. Their primary residence was a mansion they named Airlie – considered the grandest residence in North Carolina, second only to George Vanderbilt’s Biltmore. They loved entertaining and threw lavish parties; their annual budget for such affairs was $300,000 (over $10 million today). And so, yes, keeping up with these Joneses would have been something to stive for.
The most likely origin of the phase, though, stems from a comic strip by Arthur “Pop” Momand (1887-1987). As a young man he moved to Long Island, where some feel it’s very likely he did meet the Wilmington Joneses. He tried to project a wealthier image than what his actual means allowed, eventually forcing him to return to Manhattan when he couldn’t keep up appearances. He subsequently created a satirical comic that mocked both the wealthy and those who tried to imitate them, named "Keeping Up with the Joneses". It first appeared in the New York Globe in 1913 and became quite popular over its 25-year run. The comic featured the McGinis family, who were always comparing themselves to their neighbors, the Joneses (the Joneses themselves are never seen). The idea of one family trying to keep up with another resonated with many Americans, and the strip’s title consequently entered the common lexicon.
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