# Origin of the phrase “This Town’s not big enough for the two of us” **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 9, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937 "2005-12-09T20:42:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jimmmy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/73ab20/32.png) [@jimmmy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimmmy)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/1 "2005-12-09T20:42:29Z")
Where and When did the phrase “This Town’s not big enough [_sometimes ‘ain’t big enough’_]for the two of us” originate. I tried to do due diligence by searching for a previous thread but the search returned: big not for the two were all too short to search. So I am saying sorry of there was a recent thread on this … I couldn’t find it. [ ---
**Author:** ![Hombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecb155/32.png) [@Hombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hombre)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/2 "2005-12-09T20:59:07Z")
WAG, screenwriter. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/3 "2005-12-09T21:42:29Z")
[Owen Wister’s 1902 novel _The Virginian: A Horseman of the Plains_](http://www4.gvsu.edu/books/amciv/virginian/Literature%20Resource%20Center%203_1%20--%20Author%20Resource%20Pages.htm), which pretty much began the Western dime-novel genre. It also included the line “When you call me that, smile”. If Wister stole them from someone else, it wouldn’t be all that surprising, of course. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2005, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/4 "2005-12-09T21:43:40Z")
Well, actually, upon rereading my own damn cite, the dime-novel genre already existed. _The Virginian_ just made it respectable. ---
**Author:** ![KaiLegendsmith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ad7895/32.png) [@KaiLegendsmith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KaiLegendsmith)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/5 "2023-03-10T04:33:27Z")
This town ain’t big enough for the both of us come fro,? **It’s a quote from the 1932 movie The Western Code**. That’s what google says and this tread is older than me lol ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/6 "2023-03-10T04:35:57Z")
We have already established that it is much older than that, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/7 "2023-03-10T12:29:17Z")
I searched the Project Gutenberg text of _The Virginian_ for “this town” and “big enough” and came up dry. Anyone know what the actual phrasing was? [https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1298/1298-h/1298-h.htm](https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1298/1298-h/1298-h.htm) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/8 "2023-03-10T13:33:55Z")
I assume it was the grammatically appropriate “… **ain’t** big enough for the two of us.” ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/9 "2023-03-10T20:53:24Z")
Similar broad phrasing was kicking around in the late 19th century, so the ‘two of us’ part was no great leap for a not-so great writer. Australian newspapers get a few hits for ‘this town ain’t big enough to hold ye …’ when they printed the short western story ‘Two pairs of handcuffs and a glass pendant’, e.g. _[Western Star and Roma Advertiser](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article97510473)_ (Queensland) 26 Jan 1889. Roma, ironically perhaps, is a major cattle town, so the readership would have included lots of genuine in-the-saddle cowboys. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/10 "2023-03-12T23:00:43Z")
All this time I thought the phrase originated with Sparks. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/AfA4FphZHbc/maxresdefault.jpg "Sparks - This Town Ain't Big Enough For Both Of Us (TOTP 1974)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfA4FphZHbc) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2023, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/origin-of-the-phrase-this-town-s-not-big-enough-for-the-two-of-us/334937/11 "2023-03-13T00:57:58Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > We have already established that it is much older than that, I believe. > [@hogarth](#): > > I searched the Project Gutenberg text of _The Virginian_ for “this town” and “big enough” and came up dry. Anyone know what the actual phrasing was? Give @ [KaiLegendsmith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KaiLegendsmith) credit for good Google searching. _The Western Code_ (1932) indeed appears to be the first use anybody has found. Nothing even close is findable through a search of the text of _The Virginian_. But. The first sound movie version of the book was made in 1929 and it includes this line: > This world isn’t big enough for the both of us! The exact idea is there, if pretentiously expressed, and obviously susceptible to the improvement given by Milton Krims three years later. > Nick Grindell: I’m getting tired of your meddling. This town ain’t big enough for the both of us and I’m going to give you 24 hours to get out. If I see you in Carabinas by this time tomorrow, it’s you or me! > > Tim Barrett: I’ll see you at this time… tomorrow.