Heavenly Coffee (Not Chock Full O’ Nuts?)
Chock Full O' Nuts is the heavenly coffee? Who decided on that? I don't want to disturb the heavens - good heavens, no - but the Chock Full O' Nuts "Heavenly Coffee"…
“What’s the story, Jerry?” (JGE); “Forget about it!” (Tops Appliance City)
Two "Brooklynese" appliance store advertisements have influenced New York slang. J.G.E. (the letters stood for Jamaica Gas & Electric) was a short-lived appliance store. Owner Jerry…
“Ready, Willing & Able” (Doe Fund)
"The Doe Fund" is a homeless-advocacy group that was started by George McDonald. "Ready, Willing and Able" is its major program, begun in 1990. Fortunately, it's not named…
C.C.N.Y. (Christian College Now Yiddish)
This nickname for CCNY (City College of New York) doesn't have much circulation now, but is perhaps worth recording. http://www.jewishpress.com/news_article.asp?article=1972(Posted 1-8-2003 -…
“Going Your Way” (MTA slogan)
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has a slogan: "Going Your Way." An MTA "Going your way" advertisement was printed in the Daily News (New York, NY) on August 27,…
“The customer is always right” (business motto)
Who started the slogan "The customer is always right"? Was it department store founder Marshall Field (1834-1906) of Chicago? The first citations in 1905 seem to indicate this. "The…
“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…