Use it or lose it

[meyer]

who and in what context was the phrase "use it or lose it" coined?

[joko]

i suppose i could have come from 'move it or lose it' meaning 'take your hand off me or i'll break it off' or similar, and has been turned around to be a positive thing - meaning use your skills and talents and mind etc or lose them...

[kev100]

I've always known it to be about the male erection, apparently if you dont use it you will lose the ability to get an erection.

[johnlambert]

The phrase 1st appeared when it looked like sub post offices in rural places were going to close down. If i remember right the posters said " your local Post Office

use it or lose it"

[joko]

john - that was hardly the 1st use!

it has been around much much longer than that

[Xollob]

I don't know when the phrase was first coined, but I always thought this referred to the right to vote.

In the US, black voter registration and turnout is traditionally low. According to this article, 13% of black men are permanently disenfranchised in the US. This rises to 31% in Alabama and Florida.

Use it or lose it.

[waimarie]

Hi meyer, I think kev100 has got it right. This has always been my understanding of the phrase - like all muscle, if you do not use them they will shrivel and become useless. So, 'use it or lose it' sounds an accurate explanation of the male erection (and usage).

[JudgeJ]

Except that the male organ in question is not a muscle. I suppose the principle holds good though.