That’s the ticket!

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  1. Alan Eastty:

    Ref “that’s the ticket” it apparently dates from the early 18th century (April 1717) – see page 34 of “Some Account of the Parish of Saint Clement Danes Past and Present” by John Diprose – 1868

  2. Vincent Belli:

    I’m sure Lovitz didn’t know all that but I bet he DID see African Queen and Boogie says it to Katherine exactly like Lovitz says it on SNL

  3. LL Davis:

    I read this somewhere a dozen years ago but remember it being explained as originally being “That’s etiquette” in England but was transformed into “That’s the ticket” by use of the lower classes, especially those with the Cockney accent. I thought that made great logic.

  4. Carol Ann:

    I recall one of the Three Stooges using that line as well. In fact I can see his face, but can’t remember which one. Jon Lovitz probably first heard the phrase in that context.

  5. Larry:

    I recently listened to a radio interview where Lovitz claims he first heard that phrase from the movie “The Thin Man” 1934 from the character called Nunheim.

  6. Marianne Malthouse:

    I believe it comes from the Workhouse where itinerant families were placed in the 18th & 19th centuries. They would be given a ticket so they could get a bowl of soup. Hence “That’s the ticket for soup”. As an aside another expression from the Workhouse comes from the old rope they were made to unpick and re-wind hence “money for old rope”.

  7. Brilaffie:

    That’s the ticket now your cooking with gas. This is what my father always said

  8. Colleen Barbetti:

    When I, or my friends, say that’s the ticket, it’s used jokingly to mean that’s the lie I will use instead of the truth. Like when some takes a wrong but good guess at something you don’t want to reveal the truth about. I think we picked it up from Bugs Bunny way back when.

  9. Michael Decker:

    Isn’t it from pawn shop customers redeeming their items by handing over the pawn ticket? Can be seen used in old movies such as Seven Days to Noon (1950).

  10. Darrell Freels:

    My father said “That’s The Ticket” so often, I decided to shorten it to ”TTT”, around 1968.

  11. Rowena:

    Thank you for great explanation of “just the ticket” and its origin.