jump on the bandwagon

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jump on the bandwagon

Variants

  1. get on the bandwagon
  2. climb on the bandwagon

Meaning

  • to start doing something because it is fashionable or profitable
  • the act of joining others in support of something that is likely to be successful
  • aligning yourself with something that is fashionable
  • to join a cause or movement as it grows in popularity

Example Sentences

  1. The whole town was quick to jump on the bandwagon when people began to realize the home team would win the championship.
  2. I’m not one to jump on the bandwagon just because something looks like it’s going to be popular.
  3. Many people wait until they see which politician is leading in the polls before they jump on the bandwagon.
  4. The potential of the electric vehicle market has also encouraged traditional carmakers to jump on the bandwagon.
  5. It may be an excellent time to jump on the bandwagon before the gold gets even more expensive.
  6. Mercedes jumped on the bandwagon and introduced its own version of the SUV.
  7. Media plays a vital role in creating awareness on the issue, and more and more people are getting on the bandwagon to denounce social evils like drinking and smoking.
  8. My friends are obsessed with buying iPhone, but I refuse to get on the bandwagon.
  9. Many people have got on the bandwagon of protest, diluting the real issues and making a mockery of protestors’ problems.
  10. The air fryer isn’t just a fad. Just climb on the bandwagon and get one for healthy cooking.

Origin

[America 1899].

Phineas T. Barnum, a circus owner, and showman was the first to coin the word bandwagon. He first mentioned the term in his autobiography titled The Life of P.T. Barnum as a description of the wagon that carried around the band, 1855:

“At Vicksburg we sold all our land conveyances excepting four horses and the ‘band wagon‘.”

Circuses were extremely popular at the time and always attracted a crowd. Politicians of the day were quick to realize this and began using these bandwagons as part of their electoral campaigns. Although Barnum didn’t invent the exact phrase “jump on the bandwagon,” which came later, he did have a hand in some other additions to the English language.

In 1899 Theodore Roosevelt – the 26th President of the United States, made a clear reference to this practice in a passage contained in his ‘Letters’ he wrote:

“When I once became sure of one majority they tumbled over each other to get aboard the bandwagon.”

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