It originates from American car commercials in the '80s. Back when the government required car manufacturers to state the miles per gallon a car would expect to get (city/highway is tha way it was posted), the manufacturers would add this disclaimer to whatever inflated number they claimed. So they'd say something like: "The Uberwundercar gets 23mpg highway/19 mpg city, but your mileage may vary." Which, I suppose, meant if you were a weirdo who stopped at red lights or something, your fuel efficiency wouldn't be as good.
But the disclaimer was everywhere, so I think it was natural for us Americans to pick up on its other uses.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2010-02-07 12:07 am (UTC)But the disclaimer was everywhere, so I think it was natural for us Americans to pick up on its other uses.