“When a man opens the car door for his wife, either the car is new or the wife is” is a jocular line that has been printed on many images. The saying has been cited in print since at least 1959 and is of unknown authorship.
6 July 1959, Minneapolis (MN) Star, pg. 19A, col. 5:
Minute Smile
HOWARD VIKEN OF WCCO: “When you see a man open a car door for his wife, you can be sure either the car or the wife is new.”
15 December 1959, Logan (OH) Daily News, “Letters to the Editor,” pg. 3, col. 3:
When a man opens the car door for his wife, either the car is new or the wife is.
(...)
HAL SPANG
21 March 1974, Jewish Advocate (Boston, MA), “Nice to Meat You!” by “Uncle Miltie,” pg. 9, col. 5 ad:
When a man opens the car door for his wife, you can be sure of one of two things: either the car is new, or the wife is.
(Shafran’s.—ed.)
Google Books
Comedy Writing Step by Step
By Gene Perret
New York, NY: Samuel French
1982
Pg. 60:
“Any time you see a man open a car door for his wife, either the car is new or the wife is. “
Google Books
A Treasury of Humor:
Thousands of humorous stories, jokes, anecdotes and one-liners, up-to-date and categorized for ease of use
By Lowell D. Streiker
Peabody, MA: Hendrickson
2000
Pg. 210:
When a husband opens the car door for his wife, either the car is new or the wife is new. —Carol Rumsey
Google Books
Take My Wife:
523 Jokes, Riddles, Quips, Quotes, and Wisecracks About Love, Marriage, and the Battle of the Sexes
By Hugh Payne
New York, NY: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
2008
Pg. 53:
When a man opens the car door for his wife, either the car is new or the wife is.
YouTube
Jokes - If a man opens the car door for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: either the car is ne
jokesus
Published on Sep 15, 2015
Joke :
If a man opens the car door for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: either the car is new or the wife.
Google Books
3000 Jokes, 2997 Laughs
By Mike Haskins and Stephen Arnott
London, UK: Portico
2017
Pg. ?:
If a man opens a car door for his wife it means one of two things: either the car is new, or the wife is.
Twitter
Shit Jokes
@ShitJokes
When a man opens the car door for his wife, you can be sure of one thing, either the car is new or the wife is.
2:55 PM - 11 Sep 2017
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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