Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"It was so cold in New York that they canceled the ice festival" is not just a joke -- it really did happen in February 2016. On February 12, 2016, the Central Park Conservancy canceled…
"It was so cold in New York that I saw a dog stuck to a fire hydrant" is a classic joke about the weather. The joke has been cited in print since at least 1986 and may have been…
"It's so cold I saw a lawyer/politician with his hands in his own pockets!" is a joke that's frequently credited to comedians Johnny Carson (1925-2005) and Fred Allen…
"It was so cold in New York City that the Statue of Liberty put the torch inside/under/up her dress" is a jocular line that has been printed on T-shirts. Many late night television…
"It was so cold in New York City that the Statue of Liberty put the torch inside/under/up her dress" is a jocular line that has been printed on T-shirts. Many late night television…
Entry in progress -- B.P. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & CultureState Nicknamesaka: Official State Nickname(...)In the early 1940s, a group of Little Rock (Pulaski County) businessmen…
Entry in progress -- B.P. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & CultureState Nicknamesaka: Official State Nickname(...)In the early 1940s, a group of Little Rock (Pulaski County) businessmen…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Land of opportunityThe land of opportunity is a phrase used to suggest that a place presents many possibilities for people to earn a prosperous living, and…
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)Sunflower State n. U.S. a nickname for Kansas.1888 Harper's Mag. June 39/1 Her citizens affectionately speak of Kansas as the ‘Sunflower…
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)last frontier n. (a) orig. and chiefly U.S. that part of a country, region, etc., which is the last to be settled, explored, or developed; spec.…
"Hog and hominy" s a classic combination of Southern foods. Several states that produced pigs and corn were "hog and hominy states," but the nickname was most frequently applied…
Coyotes are so common in South Dakota that the University of South Dakota athletic teams are the "Coyotes." The coyote was made the official state animal in 1949. South Dakota became a…
North Dakota is frequently called the "Flickertail State," after Richardson's ground squirrel (or "flickertail"). There was a formal "Flickertail State"…
Pennsylvania has been called the "Keystone State" for several reasons. A keystone is a wedge-shaped stone that holds an arch in place. Pennsylvania was located in the center of the 13…
New York has been called the "Empire State" since at least 1830. Georgia has been called the "Empire State of the South" since at least 1840. "If not now, she soon must be…
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)Bear State n. U.S. the state of Arkansas (occas. also California).1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms App. s.v., I once asked a Western man…
Arizona is called the "Valentine State" because it was admitted to the Union on February 14, 1912 -- Valentine's Day. U.S. President William Howard Taft purposely chose the special…
Massachusetts has a long reputation as a high tax state, although several studies over many years have shown that it's far from the highest tax state. The state nickname of…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: IdahoIdaho is a state in the northwestern region of the United States. Idaho is the 14th largest, the 39th most populous, and the 7th least densely populated of…
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)Bay State n. popular name in U.S. for the State of Massachusetts, originally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay; hence Bay Stater.1789 S. Davis…