Mutt and Jeff
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of Mutt and Jeff
First recorded in 1915–20; after the characters in a cartoon strip of the same name created by U.S. cartoonist Harry C. “Bud” Fisher (1885–1954)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They’re a regular Mutt and Jeff duo, except that they’re not funny or charismatic or much of anything at all.
From New York Times ● Feb. 2, 2017
They make a great Mutt and Jeff team: Grady tall and pale and measuring his words, Esposito short and deeply tan and antic.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2015
The artist explained that the name alludes in part to "Mutt and Jeff," the first daily newspaper comic strip, created by Bud Fisher in 1907.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2015
It is also said to be a reference to the daily comic strip Mutt and Jeff, which had first been published in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1907 with just a single character, A Mutt.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 24, 2012
Besides, our famous shadows, Mutt and Jeff, were parked across the street, faithful as hound dogs in their vigilance.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
