Missouri

Requires proof; needs to be shown. Often used in longer phrases, such as "Show me, I'm from Missouri," or "I'm from Missouri and you'll have to show me." The phrase derives from Missouri's nickname, "The Show Me State." Primarily heard in US. There's no way I believe she can eat that many hamburgers in under an hour—I'm from Missouri. The president says his tax plan will make everyone a little bit richer. We'll, I'm from Missouri, and he'll have to show me.

I require proof; you'll have to show me. Often used in longer phrases, such as "Show me, I'm from Missouri," or "I'm from Missouri and you'll have to show me." The phrase derives from Missouri's nickname, "The Show Me State." I don't believe a word of what you say. I'm from Missouri—show me the deed.

requiring proof; needing to be shown something in order to believe it. (From the nickname for the state of Missouri, the Show Me State.) You'll have to prove it to me. I'm from Missouri. She's from Missouri and has to be shown.

I'm extremely skeptical so you'll have to prove it. For example, You won the lottery? Come on, I'm from Missouri. The full expression, I'm from Missouri and you'll have to show me, dates from about 1880. Some authorities believe it alludes to the Missouri Compromise of 1820, whereby Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state and slavery was forbidden in certain other areas, but the connection, if any, is not clear.

I won’t believe it without proof. This expression, signifying shrewd native skepticism rather than provincial stupidity, has been traced to a number of sources. The oldest source of the thought suggested to date is the Missouri Compromise of 1820, a proviso that the constitution of the then new state would not prohibit slavery, which was reached after several years of dickering. As for the wording, one writer cites a speech made by Congressman Willard D. Vandiver in 1899; another refers to a song from the same period, “I’m from Missouri and You’ve Got to Show Me,” with lyrics by Lee Raney and music by Ned Wayburn. Thomas Oliphant, describing Senator Edward Kennedy’s doubts about a Supreme Court nominee, wrote, “Kennedy has become the leading Show Me Senator” (Boston Globe, Sept. 29, 2005).

Prove it! Missouri's unofficial nickname is the Show-Me State, based on the inhabitants' reputed skepticism. One legend attributes the phrase's popularity to Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver. While a member of the House Committee on Naval Affairs, he said at an 1899 naval banquet, “I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me.” Even people who didn't hail from that state could be heard to question something with “I'm from Missouri . . . you'll have to show me.”