from Missouri, I'm

from Missouri, I'm idiom
I'm extremely skeptical so you'll have to prove it. For example, You won the lottery? Come on, I'm from Missouri. The full expression, I'm from Missouri and you'll have to show me, dates from about 1880. Some authorities believe it alludes to the Missouri Compromise of 1820, whereby Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state and slavery was forbidden in certain other areas, but the connection, if any, is not clear.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Comments
Improve this definition.
Do you have more to add? Share your linguistic knowledge or observation.
/Register to save your comments.