McGurk’s Suicide Hall (the Bowery)
McGurk's (or McGuirk's) Suicide Hall at 295 Bowery was torn down in 2005. It used to be a saloon and whorehouse. Several women committed suicide while working there in the 1890s, giving…
“The Citi Never Sleeps” (Citibank)
"The Citi never sleeps" is a famous Citibank slogan, borrowing on the New York City nickname, "The City That Never Sleeps." Citibank trademarked its slogan in 1978. 1 June 1978,…
Bloody Angle (Doyers Street)
Doyers Street (in Chinatown) was called "the Bloody Angle" around 1900 because of murders that occurred on the street. The term has long fadded into history, but the angle of Doyers…
Yupper West Side
"Yuppie" (Young Urban Professional) became a national buzzword in 1984. Like many buzzwords, people became tired of its over-use. It's seldom used now. Many yuppies lived on the…
Gracie Mansion
Gracie Mansion is the home of the mayor of New York City. If the mayor desires to live there, that is. Sometimes, the mayor is a billionaire and lives elsewhere....The history of Gracie Mansion is…
98 Nicknames
The largest selection of New York City nicknames (see the other entries in this Nicknames/Slogans category) can be found in Names and Sobriquets of U.S. Cities and States (second edition 1970) by…
Satan’s Circus
Another name for the "Tenderloin" area of Manhattan, just below "Hell's Kitchen," is "Satan's Circus." The term is historical and is not used today, but…
Quisqueya Heights (Washington Heights)
Washington Heights (in upper Manhattan) has so many residents from the Dominican Republic that it is often called "Quisqueya Heights." "Quisqueya" is an informal nickname of the…
Tennis “Bagel”
A "zero" looks like what? A donut? A bagel? In the 1970s, the American tennis players Eddie Dibbs and Harold Solomon were called the "Bagel Twins" or the "Bagel…
“You cannot be serious!” (John McEnroe)
Tennis player John McEnroe spouted this bit of "Queens-ese" at Wimbledon in 1981. Wikipedia: John McEnroeJohn Patrick McEnroe, Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is a former World No. 1…
“I’m from Missouri, and you’ve got to show me” & Show Me State (Missouri nickname)
Gerald Cohen is a professor at the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla, MO). He started the research on "Big Apple," and he also started the research on "I'm…
Jewish Champagne (Dr. Brown’s Cel-Ray Soda, seltzer)
"Jewish champagne" is the nickname for both Dr. Brown's Cel-Ray Soda/Tonic and for seltzer. "Description of celery tonic: Jewish champagne" was printed in the "On…
Dough Nut or Doughnut or Donut; Cruller
New York author Washington Irving has long been cited with the first appearances of the words "dough nut" (now spelled "doughnut" and "donut") and "cruller."…
Rugelach
I found one of the first citations (1941) for "rugelach." This is a difficult food to trace because the names and spelling vary widely.…
Cosmopolitan (cocktail)
The "Cosmopolitan" cocktail (also called "Cosmo") was probably invented in San Francisco. It was popularized by Odeon bartender Toby Cecchini in the late 1980s. He recently…
Fraudway; Queerialto; Double-Crossroads of the World
Fraudway (for Broadway) and Queerialto (for Rialto) and Double-Crossroads of the World (for Crossroads of the World) are some of the cynical Broadway nicknames from the 1920s that didn't…
Vincent’s Sauce
The Original Vincent's restaurant is in Little Italy at 199 Mott Street. Vincent's proudly declares that it's been around for a century, since 1904. I don't particularly care…
Root Beer Float or Ice Cream Float
It has been said that the "root beer float" or "ice cream float" (ice cream plus root beer or cola or other soda) was invented in New York City. This cannot be verified, but…
Manhattan Special Espresso Coffee Soda (from Brooklyn)
Manhattan Special ("since 1895") proudly proclaims on its web site (www.manhattanspecial.com) that it makes "the world's most famous espresso coffee soda." Other sodas…
Gyro
"Gyro" is the Greek version of New York's Italian "hero" sandwich. I've traced the "gyro" citational origins to the 1960s and the Parthenon Restaurant in…