An etymological dictionary

Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases.

Ice Cream Soda

The invention of the ice cream soda is usually attributed to Robert M. Green of Philadelphia (at the Franklin Institute in 1874) or Fred Sanders of Detroit (in 1880). John Robertson and Francis…

Texas BBQ Trail

"The Texas BBQ Trail" is a website of Central Texas barbecue places; the term "barbecue trail" became popular by the 1990s. The "Texas BBQ Trail" website surprisingly…

Texas Sausage Trail

The Texas Sausage Trail is not as established as the Texas BBQ Trail (that has its own promotional website). The term became popularized in the January 2003 Texas Co-op Power magazine with its…

Bubba-Q

"Bubba-Q" (also "Bubba Q" without the hyphen, or "bubba-q" without capitalization) is "barbecue" for a "Bubba" (Southern for "brother").…

Texas University (t.u.)

The University of Texas at Austin (UT) is called "Texas University" (always given lowercase as "t.u.") by the Texas A&M Aggies. The Aggies don't believe that their…

Veer (football offensive formation)

The "Veer" offensive formation (also called the "Houston Veer" or "Veer-T") is credited to University of Houston football coach Bill Yeoman (1962-1986), who installed…

“Two and barbecue”

"Two and barbecue" (or "two and barbeque") is a phrase that is probably most associated with baseball's College World Series. The event is double elimination -- lose two…

San Francisco of the South (Austin nickname)

The city of Austin has been called the "San Francisco of the South" (or "San Francisco of the Southwest"). Austin, like San Francisco, is a city whose residents have liberal…

Texas Holey Rock (honeycomb limestone)

Entry in progress -- B.P. Cichlid-forum.comTexas Holey Rock by Marc Elieson I get a lot of questions and comments about the rocks in my aquariums, so I have decided to address most of those…

Lubbock Stare

The city of Lubbock was the birthplace of rock and roll legend Buddy Holly, and Lubbock has also been home to country musicians Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Joe Ely, Mac Davis, and more.…

River City (San Antonio nickname)

"River City" is one obvious -- but sparsely used until recently -- nickname for the city of San Antonio. The San Antonio River runs through San Antonio, and the River Walk is…

Sand and Jello (San Angelo nickname)

"Sand and jello" has been a seldom-used nickname for the city of San Angelo since at least 2006. "Sand-and-jello" sounds similar to "San Angelo." There is no serious…