Pine Curtain
East Texas is home to the Piney Woods. For some people, the wooded area is the "pine curtain" -- another "-curtain" expression borrowed from Winston Churchill's famous…
Naked Roaches (Nacogdoches nickname)
The city of Nacogdoches is an old Texas city (it's advertised as "the oldest town in Texas") with a funny name. In 1912, a vaudeville-touring Groucho Marx declared that
Nacanowhere or Naconowhere or Nacognowhere (Nacogdoches nickname)
The city of Nacogdoches claims to be the "oldest town in Texas," but it's not especially big (compared to Dallas or Houston). Some Texans consider Nacogdoches to be a…
Jacob’s Rail (Veloway in Austin)
The Veloway is a 3.1-mile paved trail in southwest Austin for bicycle and rollerblade traffic only. According to the 1998 Austin Chronicle (below), a particularly steep hill in the Veloway has been…
Planet Albany
Albany is the capital of New York State and is about a three-hour drive up the Hudson River from New York City. Many commentators have complained that the spendthrift legislators in Albany are so…
Chalupa Burger
"Chalupa Burger" is a specialty of Big'Z Burger Joint (established 2006) in San Antonio. The combination of chalupa and hamburger attempts to imitate the success that San Antonio…
Tostada Burger
"Tostada Burger" is a specialty at Chris Madrids (established 1977) in San Antonio. The combination of tostada and hamburger includes refried beans, crushed corn chips and cheddar cheese…
“San Antonio is the northernmost city in Mexico”
San Antonio is the second-largest city in Texas. San Antonio had, at one time, been a part of Mexico, but the Mexican influences never disappeared from the city. By at least 1995, San Antonio was…
“Houston is Los Angeles with the climate of Calcutta” (Molly Ivins?)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Houston, TexasHouston (pronounced /ˈhjuːstən/) is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America and the largest city within the state of Texas. As…
Energy Capital of the World (Houston nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Houston, TexasHouston (pronounced /ˈhjuːstən/) is the fourth-largest city in the United States of America and the largest city within the state of Texas. As…
Worst (W subway line)
The "W" subway line has consistently been graded to be the "worst" line in the New York City subway system. "Worst" is a slightly newer nickname for the train that…
City Without Limits (Killeen slogan)
The city of Killeen has used the slogan "City Without Limits" since at least 2004. Killeen is located near Fort Hood and has a military-dependent economy. In 2008, Killeen unveiled a new…
Cactus Capital of Texas (Sanderson nickname)
The tiny city of Sanderson (population less than 1,000) has more cacti than people. In 1999, at the urging of local legislator Stillman Dudley and Economic Development Coordinator Terry Toler, the…
Fiesta City or Fiesta Capital (San Antonio nickname)
San Antonio has held an annual Fiesta since the 1890s. One of the many nicknames of the city of San Antonio is "Fiesta City" (or, less frequently, "Fiesta Capital"). The…
Austin: It’s what the rest of the country had in mind (Austin slogan)
"Austin: It's what the rest of the country had in mind" was a short-lived slogan for the city of Austin, created by the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau in 1990. As one writer…
Tanks for the Memories (Killeen slogan)
The city of Killeen is located next to Fort Hood, first built in 1942 to feature a new Tank Destroyer Tactical and Firing Center. In the late 1980s, Killeen officially adopted the slogan,…
“We’ll sell you the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge” (Texas Thunder Speedway)
"We'll sell you the whole seat, but you'll only need the edge!" The Texas Thunder Speedway in Killeen promises edge-of-your-seat action with this (non-trademarked) slogan. Many…
Corking (bicycle-caused gridlock)
Joel Pomerantz helped to form the bicycle group "Critical Mass" in San Francisco and probably coined the term "corking" there in 1992. Critical Mass (a large mass of bicycle…
Lubbock Clap
"Lubbock clap" is a nickname for an allegedly large number of sexually transmitted diseases at Texas Tech University in Lubbock (called the "Red Raiders"). Articles about STDs…
Raider Rash
"Raider Rash" is a nickname for an allegedly large number of sexually transmitted diseases at Texas Tech University in Lubbock (called the "Red Raiders"). Articles about STDs…