The Big Apple:

An etymological dictionary

Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.

Hawaiian Pizza (Toast Hawaii)

Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Hawaiian pizzaHawaiian pizza is a pizza which usually consists of a cheese and tomato base with pieces of ham and pineapple. Some versions include bacon,…

Texas Roll (sushi)

The "Texas Roll" sushi roll is offered at several Japanese restaurants, but the ingredients do not appear to have been standardized. Jalapeños are often included. Sushi Zushi (Dallas…

“No bowl of borscht”

"No bowl of borscht" appears to possibly have been a short-lived New York City variant of "not chopped liver." A Southern variation of the same idea would be to compare…

Fried Twinkie

The "Twinkie" cake was invented in the 1930s in the Midwest, but the deep-fried Twinkie was invented in Brooklyn. Christopher Sell (originally from England) opened a Brooklyn fish &…

Rubber Band Effect

The "rubber band effect" (or "V rally," describing how it looks on a chart) describes the stock market as like a rubber band, ready to bounce back from any large losses or…

Graveyard Market

A "graveyard market" is the end of a long bear market -- when the stock market seems like a "graveyard." Long-time investors have suffered large losses, but stay in the market…

Bagel Land

A bagel is a bread product with a hole in the center. The bagel -- like the donut, with its hole in the center -- has long symbolized the number "zero" or "0." The tennis…