APAD: A rising tide lifts all boats

'A rising tide lifts all boats'

is a fairly recent proverbial saying - given that most proverbs are centuries old. It is most often used today to refer to the movements of prices on the stock market or the economy generally. The notion as regards the stock market is that a rising 'bear' market causes all stocks to rise in value, even weak ones. As regards the economy the idea is of a Reaganistic trickle down effect, that is, if those at the top of the economic pile do well then so do all others.

As we shall see below, the economic world wasn't the source of this expression.

What's the origin of the phrase 'A rising tide lifts all boats'?

'A rising tide lifts all boats' is often attributed to John F Kennedy. The speech which introduced this phrase to many people was given by Kennedy in 1963, when he promised the continued defense of Europe:

As they say on my own Cape Cod, "A rising tide lifts all the boats."

They did indeed say it in Cape Cod; "The Rising Tide Lifts All The Boats" had been the slogan of the New England Council since 1950. What Kennedy was alluding to was the idea that what is good for Europe was good for the world. Although that speech made the saying popular neither Kennedy nor the good folk of Cape Cod in the 1950s were the originators of it.

The first example that I know of of the phrase in print is from the New Jersey newspaper The Herald News, January 1910, in a piece about the raising of funds by religious groups for missionary work:

Some inquiries are already heard concerning work at home, if so much is to be given abroad. The reply of this in charge of the campaign is that a rising tide lifts all boats.

There are other pre-Kennedy newspaper citations of the phrase, sometimes in its variant form 'a rising tide lifts all ships'. These all refer to religious work, as in this early example from The Greensboro Daily News, January 1915:

"The rising tide lifts all ships." The direct plan for improvement by every Christian Endeavor society is to identify itself with all union movements.

所有跟帖： 

• In 'The Bank Job,' the bent copper said this -7grizzly- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 09:50:29

• while demanding extra protection. -7grizzly- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 09:50:56

• Just visited cape cod this Summer. It’s very windy and my -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 10:14:51

• whale trip got canceled. I guess it must be because -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 10:17:32

• A rising tide lifts all boats ～ ～ -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 10:18:15

• Canceled: a rising whale could lift and dump our boat :-) -7grizzly- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 13:29:49

• Not at all. I saw mother and calf whales looking for food -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 13:44:36

• the next day. Beautiful and peaceful. ：）） -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 13:47:51

• And then, the boat is lifted ... :-) -7grizzly- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 13:52:02

• but they recognized you and remembered the zip code... -7grizzly- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 13:53:10

• LOL -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 14:11:32

• a rising 'bear' or ‘bull’ market? -盈盈一笑间- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 10:20:40

• I'd prefer to step into a bear at its start rising point -移花接木- ♂ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 15:04:43

• 跟“水漲船高“ 好象有些差异。 -天边一片白云- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/16/2023 postreply 14:57:47

• 学习了。就应该叫“大师”：D -爱听歌的奥黛丽- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/17/2023 postreply 06:12:05

• 水涨船高啊。非常形象！ -一荷- ♀ (0 bytes) () 12/17/2023 postreply 08:12:45