there's a sucker born every minute

there's a sucker born every minute

There is always someone willing or able to be swindled or deceived. The phrase is usually attributed to American showman P.T. Barnum. Any time I see a ridiculous product for sale, I remind myself that there's a sucker born every minute. The only reason he has a following is because there's a sucker born every minute. No rational person would think he knows what he's talking about!
See also: born, every, minute, sucker
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

there's a sucker born every minute

AMERICAN, INFORMAL
People say there's a sucker born every minute to mean that someone has just done something stupid, especially that they have been tricked. This is an industry secure in the knowledge that there's a sucker born every minute.
See also: born, every, minute, sucker
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
See also:
  • there's one born every minute
  • yench
  • clipped
  • get snowed
  • snowed
  • never give a sucker an even break
  • never give a sucker an even chance
  • fruit
  • fruiter
  • nobody's fool
References in periodicals archive
"There's a sucker born every minute," was an adage of circus owner PT Barnum.
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PHINEAS TAYLOR BARNUM, of circus fame, was supposed to have said: "There's a sucker born every minute."
PHINEAS TAYLOR BARNUM, of circus []
Which US showman is often claimed to have coined the phrase: "There's a sucker born every minute."?` 6.
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He did do a pretty good job with a Gilbert and Sullivan-style rapid version of There's A Sucker Born Every Minute but his diction with the American accent was weak.
Dismal display was more bunkum than Barnum; THEATRE BarnumKings Theatre, Glasgow
P T Barnum, the great American showman, once said: "There's a sucker born every minute." Doesn't Gaga know it?
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There's a sucker born every minute. And for every sucker out there scammers are working hard to create newer and more elaborate scams.
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He famously said "There's a sucker born every minute: There's no such thing as bad publicity, and the more outrages your claim the more people that will notice you and buy a ticket to your show".
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Which US showman is said to have coined the phrase: "There's a sucker born every minute."?
QUIZ CHALLENGE
Barnum, there's a sucker born every minute." The Crazy Horse Monument is a farce.
Russell Means
Barnum (1810-1891) is best known as a consummate charlatan whose perspective on life and business is summed up in the contemptuous contention, "There's a sucker born every minute." It is testimony to the power of first impressions that this popular image persists even though it is very substantially wrong.
St. Phineas
Barnum, ignoring his understated assertion, "There's a sucker born every minute."
Crystals light
Barnum coined the saying, "There's a sucker born every minute." Well, not exactly.
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Barnum's famous line, "There's a sucker born every minute." After all, it was the findings of Greenberg that created the Democratic agenda for 1994.
Can the Democrats be saved?
No one makes them perform - as PT Barnum, the world's greatest showman, famously said: "There's a sucker born every minute."
Arise Sir Simon, my Mr Saturday Knight
Which only goes to prove that Phineas T Barnum was dead right when he said: "There's a sucker born every minute".
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