Orphan Train
The "orphan trains" operated from about 1850-1929, sponsored by the Children's Aid Society and other societies. The trains moved children from the slums of New York City to the…
Spaghetti Park (William Moore Park in Corona, Queens)
William Moore Park in Corona, Queens (and the area surrounding the park) is sometimes called "Spaghetti Park." The park is (or at least was -- the area is changing fast) famous for the…
Tour de Brooklyn
Transportation Alternatives' "Tour de Brooklyn" is a new annual bicycling event. It's not the Tour de France, but it's not meant to be that.…
Double Check (Seward Johnson’s businessman sculpture in Liberty Park)
Seward Johnson's 1982 sculpture "Double Check" for Liberty Park (near the World Trade Center) showed a very lifelike businessman sitting in the park. The businessman survived…
“Be Good Or Be Gone” (McSorley’s Ale House & others)
McSorley's Ale House had the slogan "Good Ale, Raw Onions, and No Ladies" (see above), but that went out of style by the 1970s. "Be Good Or Be Gone" has been traced (below)…
Little Kingston; Little Jamaica
"Little Jamaica" is used infrequently, although New York City has many immigrants from Jamaica. "Little Kingston" (after Kingston, Jamaica's capital city) is even less…
Hen Coop (the women’s page) & the first advice column
"The Hen Coop" column began on July 20, 1898 in the New York Evening Journal. It was a women's page and the first women's "advice column," like an early "Dear…
Coffee Regular
Today, a coffee in New York City is Starbucks. However, some insist that "true" New Yorkers have a "coffee regular" that includes milk and sugar. The Mother Tongue: English…
G-Slope (Gowanus + Park Slope)
For those who prefer to be in Park Slope and not really Gowanus, there's now "G-Slope." Not everyone likes "G-Slope" as a neighborhood nickname, perhaps because it reminds…
“Traffic and weather together” (on the “1s” or “8s”)
The radio saying used to be just "traffic and weather every ten minutes" (especially on 1010 WINS News). It became "traffic and weather together" and "on the 8s" (for…
Begathon (Beg-athon; “beg” + “telethon”)
Marvin Kitman is a longtime Newsday television critic who has often appeared on New York area television. I wrote to him several years ago, and he told me that he coined the term…
Telethon
The first "telethon" was held in New York. The name comes from "telephone" (or "television" or "telecast") and "marathon." Viewers call in with…
Late Show & Late Late Show
The "Late Show" and "Late Late Show" were originally movies shown very late at night on CBS television (Channel 2). The terms date to 1951. David Letterman now hosts 'The…
Million Dollar Movie
Remember WOR Channel 9's "Million Dollar Movie"? Remember the theme music, from Gone With the Wind? Before Turner Classic Movies and Blockbuster, there was "Million Dollar…
Talk Radio
Talk radio was born in New York City. Barry Gray is credited as the "Father of Talk Radio." In the 1950s, Gray conducted his chatter on WMCA from midnight-3 a.m. at Chandler's…
Eyewitness News
"Eyewitness News" was a term that was first popularly used in reporting World War II. In the 1960s, it became applied to television half-hour local news programs. "Eyewitness…
Peacock Network (NBC)
NBC (originally the National Broadcasting Company) is sometimes called the "Peacock Network." The peacock symbolized the new color broadcasts and was introduced in the 1950s.…
“It’s 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?”
New York City's Channel 5 (then WNEW, now FOX television) has a 10 o'clock newscast. Before each newscast appears the public service announcement: "It's 10 p.m. Do you know…
Poor Man’s Harvard (CCNY nickname)
City College of New York used to be known with pride as the "poor man's Harvard." The nickname was popular in the 1930s-1950s. Valparaiso University (Indiana) had used this nickname…
Coffee Pot & Coffee Pot Canyon (Broadway)
The Historical Dictionary of American Slang cites "coffee pot" from 1928 and defines it: "Esp. N.Y.C. a small lunchroom or diner." There were so many "coffee pots"…