Herf (draw on a cigar or cigarette)
"Herf" was first used by "Prince of Skeeves" on the newsgroup alt.smokers.cigars on November 21, 1996. On November 23rd, "Prince of Skeeves" explained: "To…
New York Slimes (New York Times nickname)
New York Slimes is a nickname that some people who do not like the New York Times sometimes use. The Times is perceived as liberal, and some conservatives have called it The Slimes since at least…
New Duranty Times (New York Times nickname)
The New York Times newspaper has many critics who give it many nicknames. Since 2005, Robert Spencer's blogs Jihad Watch and Dhimmi Watch have called the newspaper "The New Duranty…
“Pinch the tail and suck the head” or “Suck the head and pinch the tail” (crawfish eating)
People in Louisiana and eastern Texas love to eat crawfish. Eating crawfish, however, is a multi-step process. Some eaters "suck the head" of a crawfish to get all the juices. Then eaters…
Wasteway (Westway nickname)
"Westway" was the name of the proposed super-highway project to bury the West Side Highway below 40th Street. The highway was planned in 1969, was long fought-against on environmental…
The Line That Time Forgot (Second Avenue Subway)
The Second Avenue Subway (under Manhattan's Second Avenue) has been proposed since the 1920, but has had many false starts. One nickname of the Second Avenue Subway has been "the greatest…
Murraytown (Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Gramercy & the Flatiron)
The blog "Welcome to Murraytown" was started in late May 2008, with the slogan: 'Reporting from the front lines of Murray Hill, Kips Bay, Gramercy & the Flatiron." This blog…
Capital of the Border (El Paso slogan)
The city of El Paso is on the border with Mexico, just across from Ciudad Juárez. In May 2008, the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau began a campaign to label El Paso as the "Capital of…
Brother-in-Law Sandwich (chopped beef, hot links and cheese)
Stanley's Famous Pit Bar-B-Que in Tyler serves a "Brother-in-Law" sandwich of chopped beef, hot links, and cheese. It is not known if the "Brother-in-Law" sandwich is…
“Barbecue sauce is like a beautiful woman. If it’s too sweet, it’s bound to be hiding something”
The Texas Monthly June 2008 issue featured "The Top 50 BBQ Joints in Texas." On page 135 was Texas musician Lyle Lovett's Ode to Sauce: "BARBECUE SAUCE is like a beautiful…
Huntsvegas (Huntsville nickname)
Huntsville, Alabama, is the largest of the many "Huntsvilles" in the United States. By at least 1992, Huntsville (called "Rocket City" because of the NASA Marshall Space Flight…
“West Texas Girls…don’t wear lip gloss during a dust storm”
"West Texas Girls...don't wear lip gloss during a dust storm" is a T-shirt saying. Glenn Dromgoogle's book 100 Great Things About Texas (2005) lists this as Great Thing #34:…
“Ugliest, filthiest, shittiest city in the world” (Henry Miller)
Henry Miller (1891-1980) was an American novelist famed for his sexually graphic works that were banned in the 1950s, such as Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn. Miller was born in the…
City of Contrasts (Odessa slogan)
The city of Odessa in west Texas has used the "City of Contrasts" slogan since at least 1981, when a trademark was registered. In 1999, Odessa advertised: "It's a city where…
Cheater Ribs
Texas barbecuing is usually done with lots of smoke over lots of time, "low and slow." However, not everyone has lots of time! Canadian barbecue champion Ron Shewchuk published the recipe…
Sundance Eggs
'Sundance eggs" is an English name sometimes used for the Spanish name of the Tex-Mex breakfast dish "migas" (crumbs). Sundance eggs/migas consists usually of scrambled eggs,…
JerryWorld or Jerry World or Jerry’s World (Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington)
Dallas Cowboys football team owner Jerry Jones had long planned that his team would move into a new stadium in Arlington in 2009. The proposed stadium and entertainment complex was quickly dubbed…
Food Oscars (James Beard Foundation Awards)
The James Beard Foundation Awards were started in 1991, six years after noted chef and cookbook author James Beard died in New York City in 1985. The awards are presented each spring at Avery…
Suicide Soda (Suicide Coke; Graveyard Soda; Swamp Water; Shipwreck; Hurricane; Tornado)
A "suicide" or "suicide soda" (also called "suicide Coke," "graveyard soda," "swamp water," "shipwreck," "hurricane," and…
“Does the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?”
"Does the flap of a butterfly's wings in Brazil set off a tornado in Texas?" was the title of a 1972 speech by Edward Norton Lorenz (1917-2008) before the American Academy for the…