The exact origins is unknown. The first published use was in a Real Estate ad in the 40s, but American comedian Flip Wilson, as his alter ego, Geraldine Jones popularized the use of the phrase, starting with his guest appearance, as Geraldine Jones, on an episode of Rowan Martin's Laugh-In in the late 60s and later on his own TV show, the Flip Wilson Show in the early 70s. Along with, "The devil made me do it." "What you see is what you get" are phrases Wilson brought into America's pop culture. A school in Palto Alto, California is actually credited with coming up with the acronym first.
