“Whenever you don’t know who the loser is in a transaction, then the loser is you”
"If you're at a poker table and you don't see a sucker, it's you." This gambling saying dates to at least 1982 and was possibly coined by Amarillo Slim Preston, a…
Roll with a Hole (bagel)
A bagel has been called a "roll with a hole" (or "roll with the hole") since at least 1944. The rhyming "roll-with-a-hole" made a newspaper headline by at least 1972.…
Cement Doughnut or Cement Donut (bagel)
Bagels used to be harder to chew than most of them are today. Comedian Milton Berle (1908-2002) claimed in 1985 that he told the first-ever bagel joke many years before when he called a bagel a…
“In for a dime, in for a dollar”
"In for a dime, in for a dollar" is an American version of "in for a penny, in for a pound" (the British pound currency, in a saying that dates to the 1600s). The saying means…
Afterburners (Jalapeño Shrimp Poppers)
"Afterburners" (also called "jalapeño shrimp poppers") are jalapeño peppers stuffed with shrmp and wrapped with bacon, usually served with a spicy queso dip. "Jalapeño…
Grillable
"Grillable" (or "grill-able," meaning a food that's able to be heated on a grill) is a word that's not in many dictionaries. A linguistic book published in 1974…
Hockey Puck (a burger, especially a hamburger cooked “well done”)
A round burger (such as a hamburger or a turkey burger or a veggie burger) can resemble a hockey puck. A burger cooked "well done" is often blackened and tough as a hockey puck to eat.…
“September is when leaves and stocks tend to fall; On Wall Street it’s the worst month of all”
Stocks haven't done well in the month of September. The annual Stock Trader's Almanac made it into a poem: September is when leaves and stocks tend to fallOn Wall Street it s the worst…
“The gentleman will take a chance” (eating hash)
Hash has long been called "mystery" in restaurant slang. What is it? Where does it come from? An old joke has a customer ordering hash, and the waiter shouts to the kitchen, "The…
Jack (GAC=grilled American cheese); Jack Benny/Jack Back (grilled American cheese with bacon)
Diner lingo shortens a "grilled American cheese sandwich" to "GAC." The term "GAC" is pronounced and often written as "Jack." A "Jack" with bacon…
Honeymoon Salad (lettuce alone and no dressing)
A 'honeymoon salad," as the old joke has it, is "lettuce alone" ("let us alone"). "Honeymoon salad" ("lettuce alone") is cited in print since 1925.…
“We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately”
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikiquote: Benjamin FranklinBenjamin Franklin (17 January 1706 – 17 April 1790) was an American inventor, journalist, printer, diplomat, and statesman.(...)Attributed.…
“Markets make managers”
"Markets make managers" means that, for some money managers, it pays to be lucky as well as good. If the stock market goes up (or down) as the money manager had predicted, the market has…
“Do vegetarians eat animal crackers?”
"Animal crackers" (crackers made in animal shapes) have been sold commercially since the late 19th century. In an April 2, 1996 "Family Circus" comic strip, young Billy eats…
“Why did the chicken cross the road?” (joke)
"Why did the chicken cross the road? To get to the other side!" This joke is cited in print in the March 1847 The Knickerbocker (New York monthly magazine). An 1872 variant is: "Why…
“What starts with T, ends with T, and is full of T?” (food riddle)
"What starts with T, ends with T, and is full of T? A teapot." This popular riddle has been cited in print since at least 1933. “How do you turn a T into a P?"/"Drink it"…
“Why don’t cannibals eat clowns?”/“Because they taste funny!”
"Why don't cannibals eat clowns? Because they taste funny!" This popular cannibal-eats-clown joke (wordplay on "tastes funny" meaning "strange" or "not…
Jaikishan Heights (Jackson Heights)
Jackson, Heights, Queens, has been called "Little India" since at least 1985 for its many Indian businesses at 74th Street area (between Roosevelt Avenue and 37th Avenue). Jackson Heights…
Little Pakistan (Midwood, Brooklyn)
The Midwood section of Brooklyn -- on Coney Island Avenue, between Avenue H and Newkirk Avenue -- has been called "Little Pakistan" because of its many residents of Pakistani descent. The…
“Practice safe eating—always use condiments”
In 1985-86 (during the AIDS epidemic), health authorities encouraged people to practice "safe sex" and to "always use a condom." By 1987, restaurants parodied this with "Be…