Let’s get this dog and pony show on the road.
Any idea the origin of this phrase?
Did they actually used to have dog and pony shows?
Were they traveling shows like the circus?
I couldn’t find the etymology of this phrase in the normal areas,but I did find this- A real dog and pony show
http://www.gabbf.com/dogs.html
I’ll keep looking.
From the different references I’ve found, the phrase is derived from a scaled-down circus that would travel from small town to small town with literally just a dog and a pony. Big city folks were derisive of these “dog and pony” shows. Thus it’s current somewhat derogatory usage.
I couldn’t find the origin of the phrase (even if I had - Chief beat me to the post :)), but in searching I did find an interesting site with the origins of a bunch of other phrases http://members.aol.com/MorelandC/Phrases.htm