Where Did The Expression "Elvis Has Left The Building" Originate?

The expression “Elvis has left the building” has been used as a comedic and colloquial way to say “the show's over”, “get out while the gettin's good”, “you don't have to go home but you can't stay here”, etc.

Our aunts and uncles say it, our grandparents said it before it was cool, and little kids say it even though they don't have a clue who Elvis Presley is, but where did this fun expression come from?

Simon Whistler of Today I Found Out explores the origin of this saying that's more popular than Presley in this fun factoid video, getting to the bottom of this mystery with a little help from our friend Eddie Deezen.

-Via Laughing Squid

Comments (0)

Lol! This is exactly what both of my cats do! I bring home boxes from work for them to play with for this reason. It's way better than watching tv for entertainment

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

When I took care of my sister's rabbit, a cardboard box would be fun for hours. I remember one time she chewed out the supports, then jumped on top of it. She had the best "Oh crap" look on her face I've ever seen. She fell off, but she was ok.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

So cute! Our cat is a bit more lazy than that, but still does most of it heh. Love it!

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

I keep getting pop up ads that freeze the site, I hope this is not intentional and didn't know how to bring it to your attention if it is not, so I thought i'd just comment.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

Also just wanted to comment that the pop-up ads are killing my browser too, and make it impossible to click to read comments, since it reloads again.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

I love to visit your site. You always have something that puts a smile on my face. Thanks for the great post and yes, my cat does the same thing.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

Oh I thought I was the only one that had the ads screw up the site. They don't freeze the site, they just make the site shut down.

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

Well, all cat may have done it, but my Charlie has grown a bit lazy in his old age, so his box-hunting days are over. The scratching bit, however, is still "fun" !

Abusive comment hidden. (Show it anyway.)

Commenting is closed.

Click here to view up to the first 100 of this post's 0 comments

We hope you like this article!
Please help us grow by sharing:

Get Updates In Your Inbox

Free weekly emails, plus get access
to subscriber-only prizes.

We won't share your email. You can cancel at any time.

neat stories? Like us on Facebook!

Close: I already like you guys!