“An Educated Consumer Is Our Best Customer” (Syms Clothing)
Syms is a friendly clothing store on East 54th Street and Park Avenue. Syms advertised for years that it had a markdown system, not "sales." If a product didn't sell, its price was…
“His Prices Are Insane!” (Crazy Eddie)
People still talk about Crazy Eddie, the bankrupt electronics store with those loud ads for insanely low prices. The commercials (one is preserved in the movie Splash) ran from about 1975 to 1989.…
“It’s smart to be thrifty” (Macy’s); “Nobody undersells Gimbels” (Gimbels)
Bernice Fitz-Gibbon provided famous slogans for both Macy's and Gimbels! She did "It's smart to be thrifty" for Macy's before she was plucked away and did "nobody but…
Crack Is Wack
The artist Keith Haring died of AIDS on February 16, 1990, at age 31. His originally unauthorized 1986 "Crack Is Wack" mural at a playground on the FDR Drive and 128th Street still can be…
Frrrozen Hot Chocolate
"Frrrozen Hot Chocolate" is a specialty at Serendipity 3, on 225 East 60th Street. The recipe cannot be reproduced here, but it has recently been published ia a Serendipity cookbook. 10…
Bulldog Edition
"Bulldog edition" is the earliest edition of a Sunday newspaper. It's been recorded from 1906. The Hearst newspapers (such as the New York American and New York Evening Journal,…
Eggs Benedict
Was "Eggs Benedict" invented at Delmonico's or the Waldorf Hotel or the Hoffman House or somewhere else? The standard stories and citations are presented on the first two web sites…
Baked Alaska
"Baked Alaska" is claimed by the New York City restaurant Delmonico's. Just about every 19th century dish is claimed by Delmonico's. It's very clear that forms of the dish…
New Amsterdam
The Encyclopedia of New York City (1995) is terse on New Amsterdam. The following entry is credited to no one: "The former name of New York City, first used in the mid-1620s. On 1 February…
The Rialto (14th Street)
"The Rialto" was the 14th Street theatre district. The theatre district has long since moved uptown, and "the Rialto" is no longer used. The term was extremely popular in the…
Scofflaw
"Scofflaw" is now what people are called who don't pay their parking tickets. However, the word "scofflaw" began as the winning word in a Prohibition-era contest to find a…
BoCoCa (Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens)
"BoCoCa" is the Brooklyn area of Boerum Hill + Cobble Hill + Carroll Gardens. It's silly, of course, but it's getting some attention so I'll include it here (for what…
San Man
The 1954 hit song "Mr. Sandman" was performed by The Chordettes, with words and music by Pat Ballard. There's no exact date to pinpoint, but some time after that, a man who worked…
Jaywalker (Jay Walker); Jaywalking (Jay Walking)
"Jay walking" (or "jaywalking") was first named and popularized in Kansas City, not New York. "Jay," according to the Historical Dictionary of American Slang, is…
Alligator in the sewers (urban myth)
It's a popular urban legend that there are alligators in the New York City sewer. I found the first such newspaper article, from 1907. The most famous example is from 1935. Alligators…
Green Book (Official Directory)
"The Green Book" is called that because - surprise! - it's green. The formal name is the "Official Directory," but it was soon dubbed the "little green book." It…
Evacuation Day (November 25th)
"Evacuation Day" celebrates the evacuation of British troops from New York City on November 25, 1783. It used to be a great New York celebration, but now it is almost totally forgotten.…
Working Girl
"Working Girl" was the title of a 1988 New York-based movie, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Joan Cusack. "I'm in…
Master of the Universe
Tom Wolfe's 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux) coined this term for Wall Street. It's not used much today. The true "Master of the…
Greater New York
"Greater New York" was a term used much in the 1890s when the unification of the boroughs was being discussed. The unification occurred in 1898. It was used after 1898. In 1903, an early…