Have you ever seen the British comedy, Keeping Up Appearances? Imagine that set to very early comic strip artwork and you've got the U.S. strip, Keeping Up with the Joneses.

Keeping Up with the Joneses debuted in a 1916 issue of The New York World and focused on the McGinis family: the couple Aloysius and Clarice, their daguther Julie and their maid Belladonna.

Arthur "Pop" Momand was the creator, though the strip's artwork is derivative of George McManus and its premise--a family's collective efforts at social climbing lead to hilarious misadventure--also hearkens to McManus' Bringing Up Father.

By 1940, the strip fizzled out, but not before establishing its own unique socio-historical import. Pop Momand's strip came into its own during the 1920s when it began to be syndicated nationally. Shortly after, "Keeping Up with the Joneses" became a popular part of our culture's colloquial lexicon. Even today, we know that the phrase has to do with neighborly competition and relentless social climbing.