“Fun City” nickname (1966)
New York's "Fun City" nickname was born in the first days of Mayor John Lindsay's administration in January 1966. There was a transit strike; after observing New York's…
Great White Way (Broadway)
"Great White Way" has been the most popular nickname for the Broadway theater district in New York City. "The Great White Way" was originally the title of a 1901 book by Albert…
Big Apple Fame and Fortune
In the February 1994 issue of Irish America (available at HighBeam), I published the story of John J. Fitz Gerald and the Big Apple. It was the only periodical that (then and now) accepted my work.…
Only in New York
The New York Times has published a book collection of its FYI columns titled Only in New York (2004). A big red apple is on the cover of the book, but "the Big Apple" is never answered in…
Off Topic: Charles Gillett on Conventions
Charles Gillett helped secure the Democratic National Convention for New York City in 1976. This is from the New York Times, February 17, 1974, og. 453:"'American was founded at a…
Big Apple 1970s Revival: Charlie Gillett and Lew Rudin
Charles Gillett (1915-1995), then president of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, is responsible for the 1970s "Big Apple" campaign that revived the nickname. It played a…
Damon Runyon (who never used “Big Apple”)
It's not difficult to see how this "Big Apple" attribution would occur. American writer Damon Runyon (1880-1946) was noted for his underworld slang. He had a character called…
1920s Non-Horseracing “Big Apple” Citations
There are "Big Apple" citations in the 1920s that have nothing to do with horseracing. These are after 1925. If you consider the horseracing uses to mean "Big Apple = New York…
Big Apple Corner (1997 Law & Today)
[See also part one, "Big Apple Corner (1992-1997)," and part three, "Big Apple Corner (New York Morning Telegraph site)," and part four, "Big Apple Corner (sign stolen,…
Big Apple Corner (1992-1997)
[See also part two, "Big Apple Corner (1997 Law & Today)," and part three, "Big Apple Corner (New York Morning Telegraph site)," and part four, "Big Apple Corner (sign…
“Big Apple” in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.‘s novel Slaughterhouse-Five (1969)
Just before Charles Gillett's campaign revived "Big Apple" in the 1970s, there is one important citation. The New-York Historical Society liked it enough to put it on its web…
Big Apple bet (1988, 2003) between mayors of New York City and Columbia, South Carolina
A simple "Big Apple Bet" is at the core of the modern discovery of the "Big Apple" and this very web site.The "Big Apple" dance comes from Columbia, South Carolina. A…
“Big Apple” Cohen-Popik Work On Television (?)
Although New York City is the media capital of the world, the "Big Apple" story would be completely ignored. Neither Gerald Cohen nor Barry Popik has been invited on any television…
About the Website and Site Editor
THE BIG APPLE. An etymological dictionary (over 36,000 entries) investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases, specializing in modern slang, neologisms, nicknames,…