The Big Apple:

An etymological dictionary

Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.

Dungeon Alley (Dungeon District)

"Dungeon Alley" or "Dungeon District" is the nickname (cited in print since 2007) for a roughly 20-block area of Manhattan (between Chelsea and Midtown) that caters to the sex…

GoCaGa (Gowanus-Carroll Gardens)

"GoCaGa" is a seldom-used nickname for the Gowanus-Carroll Gardens section of Brooklyn. "GoCaGa" was cited in print in August 2008 amd was popularized in a November 9, 2009 New…

“Something rotten in the cotton”

"Something (is) rotten in the cotton" is a Southern expression meaning that something is wrong. U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973) is credited with saying it. "Something…

Cocktailian

Entry in progress -- B.P. Word Spycocktailian (kawk.TAYL.ee.un) n. A person who is an expert at making cocktails; a master bartender. —adj. Example Citation:"Professor" Jerry Thomas,…

“Weaned on a pickle”

Alice Roosevelt Longworth (1884-1980), the eldest child of Theodore Roosevelt, allegedly commented in 1924 the U.S. President Calvin Coolidge (1872-1933) was so sour-looking that "Coolidge was…