“Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” (1932)
Say, don't you remember they called me Al,It was Al all the time.Why don't you remember, I'm your pal --Buddy, can you spare a dime? "Brother, can you spare a dime?"…
Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases.
Say, don't you remember they called me Al,It was Al all the time.Why don't you remember, I'm your pal --Buddy, can you spare a dime? "Brother, can you spare a dime?"…
The Knickerbocker Glory (or, Knickerbocker Sundae) has a New York name, but you'll probably have to go to the United Kingdom to get it. No one knows much about the history of…
A "New York trigger" is a trigger on guns to make it harder to fire. This was intended to cut down on accidental shootings. A "New York trigger" is harder to pull because…
A "New York reload" is when the first gun runs out of ammunition and you "reload" with a second fully loaded gun. The term appears to date from the 1980s or early 1990s.…
Some localities have a standard humorous "breakfast." There are jokes about the "Irish breakfast" (Lucky Charms with Bailey's) and the "Kentucky breakfast"…
"New York Stop" is a skating stop, even more difficult that a "power stop." I suppose it's called "New York" because it's the most difficult. It appears to…
Driving in wood screws with a hammer is called a "New York screwdriver." It's the brute force technique. http://www.loganact.com/tips/shopsay.htmNew York Screwdriver -> driving…
The late and lamented Ebinger's Bakery of Brooklyn probably created the tradition of the "New York crumb cake." Entenmann's now makes "New York crumb cakes" by the…
"Big D," a nickname of Dallas, Texas, has been cited in print since at least the January 15, 1933, when it was printed in the Dallas (TX) Morning News. Texas broadcaster Lee Myres…
The Queensboro Corporation developed the country's first "garden apartments" in Jackson Heights in the 1910s. The corporation's founder and director was E. A. MacDougall. A…
"The Big Smoke" (or, "the Great Smoke") is London, England -- a city known for its fog. "The Big Smoke" dates earlier than "the Big Apple," but London's…
Both Boise (the city) and Idaho (the state) have been called "the Big Potato." It's not a formal nickname, but it's another natural extension of the "Big Apple"…
After the 1970s popularity of "the Big Apple," everybody started getting into the act. "Big Guava" (for Tampa, Florida) is from the 1970s, but it remains popular. Tampa…
Australita = Australia + Nolita. There's not much on "Australita" now. The article below reviews the Austalian restaurants The Sunburnt Cow (137 Avenue C, between 8th and 9th…
Suzanne Vega included the song "Tom's Diner" in her 1987 album Solitude Standing. However, the a cappella folk song has been performed by Vega in public at least since 1984. The…
Katz's Deli, 205 East Houston Street. Meg Ryan. Billy Crystal. When Harry Met Sally... (1989), directed by Rob Reiner, with a screenplay by Nora Ephron. Harry and Sally are seated. Sally fakes…
Sacramento, California came in late to the act. "Big Tomato" and "Sacratomato" both probably date from the late 1970s, well after "Big Apple" and even "Big…
The "Inner Circle" is the long-running satirical show where political writers and politicians make fun of themselves. The 1997 drag appearance of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will long be…
New York's "tri-state area" is almost always New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Some times in the past, Connecticut might have been dropped for Pennsylvania or Delaware. An old…
The Circle Line runs sightseeing cruises around Manhattan, and to other points. It's been in business since 1945. "The only way to see New York -- Circle it on the Circle Line" is…