An etymological dictionary

Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases.

Big Blue; Big Blue Wrecking Crew

"Big Blue" is the nickname for the New York Giants football club, who used to play in Yankee Stadium, but who now play in Giants Stadium in...ahhh...New Jersey. There are other "Big…

Tenderloin

The once-seedy heart of New York City was once called the "Tenderloin." Police Captain Alexander Williams allegedly coined the term in the late 1870s, but the earliest citations that I…

Silk Stocking District

I live in the "Silk Stocking District" on the upper east side of Manhattan. The term is an old one, meaning wealthy people who dress expensively. 8 September 1895, New York Times, pg.…

Hell’s Kitchen

New York City has many hells -- "Hell Gate," for example. "Hell's Kitchen" is one of the most famous and enduring of New York City neighborhood names. "Hell's…

Chinatown

San Francisco's famous Chinatown was named earlier, but New York's came soon afterward. There are now Chinatowns in many other cities. It's difficult to say exactly when New…

Little Italy

There's more than one Little Italy in New York City, and the name is not reserved for New York's alone. Wikipedia: Little Italy, ManhattanLittle Italy is a neighborhood in lower…

Gotham

"Gotham" is an old and well-known nickname, and I don't have much to add to this. It's best known today as the city that the comic character Batman protects. There is a Gotham…

Bagdad-on-the-Subway

"Bagdad-on-the-Subway" was O. Henry's nickname for New York City. Other writers soon called it "Bagdad on the Hudson." The nickname is about 100 years old and does not…

Parkie/Parky

A Parks Department employee. It's either "Parkie" or "Parky." It was used more in the past than it is today. American Speech, vol. 16, no. 3, October 1941, pg. 188:PARK AND…

Knish

A knish is an Eastern European snack food with a filling (usually potato) covered with dough. Was the knish started by Max Green of Rivington Street, almost 100 years ago? The Yonah Schimmel Knish…

Bloody Mary (cocktail)

The Bloody Mary is often thought to have been invented at Harry's New York Bar in Paris, in the 1920s. The French bartender Fernand Petiot (1900-1975) later came to the King Cole Room of the…

911 (emergency call)

911 is dialed for emergency calls; 311 is for non-emergency calls. The 911 system was introduced in New York City -- and nationwide -- in 1968. In the 1967 phonebook, Fire was "OPERATOR"…

Hot Dog Roll (Hot Dog Bun; Vienna Roll)

The origin or the hot dog roll has never been recorded. According to myth, the hot dog roll was born at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. The hot dog vendor had run out of the white gloves that…

Shyster

Gerald Cohen is a professor at the University of Missouri-Rolla and the editor of Comments on Etymology. Before his 1991 Big Apple monograph, Cohen published these two in the 1980s: Origin of the…

“Indict a ham sandwich”

This famous modern legal term that a prosecutor can get a grand jury to "indict a ham sandwich" -- that is, indict anything -- began in New York. It was immortalized in the Tom Wolfe…