“A diet is usually a period of starvation that precedes a rapid gain of 10 pounds” is a jocular definition of a diet that has been cited in print from at least 1967. “A diet is a brief period of starvation followed by a gain of five pounds”—five pounds less—was printed in a 2001 book.
3 March 1967, Record American (Boston, MA), “Audrey Cinderellgant” by Walter Winchell, pg. 38, col. 1:
NEW YORK—The book “It’s Square To Be Round” reminds the plump: “A diet is usually a period of starvation that precedes a rapid gain of 10 pounds.”
6 February 1986, Houston (MO) Herald, pg. A5, col. 1 ad:
Jay’s quip: A diet is a brief period of starvation followed by a gain of 10 pounds.
(Jay’s Automotive Service.—ed.)
Google Books
The Complete Book of Zingers
By Croft M. Pentz
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers
1990
Pg. 63:
For most of us a diet is a brief period of starvation followed by immediate gain in weight.
Google Books
The Ultimate Cheesecake Cookbook
By Joey Reynolds with Myra Chanin
New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press
2001
Pg. ?:
“A diet is a brief period of starvation followed by a gain of five pounds.”
Google Groups: alt.wisdom
Daffynitions
Kaelwyn
1/15/02
(...)
Diet - A brief period of starvation usually followed by the gaining of five pounds.
Twitter
Joe Heuer
@Daffynitions
Diet: a brief period of starvation followed by a gain of five pounds. #diet
6:07 PM - 15 Nov 2009
Twitter
rt ur favorite food
@ModernFoodie15
diet: a brief period of starvation followed by a gain of five pounds.
3:48 PM - 5 Sep 2015
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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