Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 38,000 entries.
Who can forget Sy Sperling's tv commercials confessing: "I'm not only the Hair Club president, I'm also a client!" http://www.hairclub.com/companyinfomens.htmBeforeFor much…
Castro Convertibles is a New York City company that began on West 21st Street. It advertised heavily in a new medium called television, and it sold a product perfect for New York -- the…
"Spritzer" is a "splash," from the German word. It is usually a mixture of wine and soda water, but the word can be used for other drink combinations. It was popular among the…
A "drugstore cowboy" was someone who hung around the drugstores, then popular with the soda fountain crowd. The term had long thought to have been coined by New York cartoonist Thomas A.…
"Janssen wants to see you!" was the famous slogan of August Janssen's Hofbrau Haus. It had once been of New York's most famous German establishments -- in a city that once had a…
New York has the Finest (police), Bravest (fire), Strongest (sanitation), and Boldest (corrections). Other, similar nicknames are less established. "Join New York's Brightest -- Teach…
The "Broadway soda" is a combination of coffee an chocolate. It isn't served anymore, but it probably should be! http://www.brooklyn.net/my_bklyn/my_bklyn_334.htmlAnd I remember…
A "cliff dweller" is a term (popular in the 1890s) for a resident of an apartment building. The term appeared in simultaneous 1893 publications describing "cliff dwellers" of…
"Good Ale, Raw Onions and No Ladies" used to be the slogan of McSorley's Ale House, at 15 East 7th Street. McSorley's has been around since 1854; the Bridge Cafe is older, but…
"Zoo York" is less a nickname for New York City than it is the name of a New York City-based company that makes products popular with skateboarders and graf(fiti) artists. "Zoo…
The World Trade Center came down by a terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Several firefighters developed a cough, unlike the coughs they had fighting fires. Dr. David Prezant, chief pulmonary…
The ship Titanic hit an iceberg and sunk on its maiden voyage to New York in 1912. There was a popular 1997 movie titled Titanic. Since that movie, a high-priced team that fails has been nicknamed…
The Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum features the Intrepid, a World War II aircraft carrier. The museum on the west side of Manhattan has so much more, so a recent slogan has been added:…
Want to walk New York? Why not go with Take A Walk, New York (TAWNY)? There are several walks each month, and it's free! http://www.walkny.org/Step1.htmlTake A Walk, New York! Do you love New…
The huge statue of a snow-white woman, "Purity" or "Virtue," stood briefly in Times Square in 1909. Pictures of the statue appear frequently in books about Times Square, but the…
"Counterfeit Alley" is the name of any place that sells counterfeit (fake) goods. Yes, that $5 "Gucci" bag or $5 "Rolex" watch can probably be found there. Some of the…
The first "World's Fair" was London's Crystal Palace exhibtion of 1851. New York City followed quickly with a Crystal Palace "World's Fair" of its very own, in…
"Brownstone front cake" is a very rich chocolate cake. It's said to resemble the "brownstone front" houses. The cake was popular in the late 19th century and probably began…
Lord & Taylor, on Fifth Avenue, is one of New York's most famous stores. Its Christmas window displays are a must-see. "The Signature of American Style" is a slogan from 1990…
"Manhattan's Restaurant Row" is on West 46th Street and "Harlem's Restaurant Row" is on Frederick Douglass Boulevard. Brooklyn has a "Restaurant Row" on…