Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 38,000 entries.
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" 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…
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."…
I found one of the first citations (1941) for "rugelach." This is a difficult food to trace because the names and spelling vary widely.…
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 (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…
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…
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 ("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" 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…
It's been declared that New Year's Day in New York was once called "Cake Day." I went through several databases of New York material without finding s single citation for…
The song "Dixie Land" was written by Daniel Decatur Emmett and performed at Bryant's Minstrels at 472 Broadway, New York City, on April 4, 1859. Emmett had included the name…
"Soda." Only "soda." Not "pop." Not "soda pop." Not "soft drink." Not "cola," although people will understand that. Not "coke,"…
New York is a "sprinkle" town. If you call them "jimmies," you're probably the type of person who roots for the Boston Red Sox. I found the earliest citation for…
Do New Yorkers call it a "Chinese apple" while everyone else calls it a "pomegranate"? (Dictionary of American Regional English)Chinese apple n A pomegranate (Punica…
A Lower East Side Street (I forget which) was said to have so many wedding shops that it was called "Bridal Row." That name doesn't seem to come up in the digitized New York Times…
"Solita" (or "SoLita") means "South of Little Italy." It's a spinoff from NoLita (North of little Italy). The name started with the "SoLita Building" at…
The Mayflower coffee and donut shops (1930s-1970s) used this "Optimist's Creed" as its motto. The poem pre-dates the Mayflower. 15 April 1904, New York (NY) Sun, pg. 6, col. 5:Their…
ABC-TV's "Eyewitness News" had its glory years in the 1970s, with Roger Grimsby as the anchor. Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" often parodied "Eyewitness…
The Jeffersons was a stituation comedy spinoff of All in the Family that ran on CBS television from January 18, 1975 to July 23, 1985. George Jefferson ran a successful dry cleaning business,…