Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
Entry in progress--B.P. Wikipedia: Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson (August 27, 1908 – January 22, 1973), often referred to as LBJ, was the thirty-sixth President of the United States,…
The "Southside Fade" is a "fade" haircut that is short on the bottom and progressively thicker on the top of the head. "Southside" means the south side of Houston,…
Queens College calls its men's athletic teams the "Knights." In the 1970s, the women's athletic teams were called the "Knightees." The "Knightee"…
Horse wranglers take care of horses and are, perhaps, the most famous of all "wranglers." Balloon wranglers take care of balloons. At the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, balloon…
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade introduced a "balloonicle" (balloon + vehicle) in 2004. A "ballonicle" inflates just as a ballloon does, but can be driven down the…
A "falloon" is a combination float/balloon; the term was introduced at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The first "falloon" was introduced to the parade about 1990 --…
"Inflation Eve" is the night before Thanksgiving day when all of the balloons that will be featured in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are inflated. The inflation takes place between…
The lights on the cables of New York's suspension bridges look like necklaces at night. The "necklace lighting" began on the Triborough Bridge and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (in 1964);…
The city of Texarkana in Bowie County has three sites on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List for cleanup. An article by James Presley in the March 10, 1989 Texas…
Galveston has two distinctions for the people (non-tourists) who live there: "BOI" (Born On the Island) and "IBC" (Islander By Choice). "BOI" is cited in print from at…
"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" is the title of a Sharon Rice/Sharon Vaughn-written song that appeared on the 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi…
Houston rappers have named their turf the "Dirty Third" or "Dirty 3rd" -- taken from the terms "Dirty South" (current from 1995) and "Third Coast" (current…
"Dirty South" is a term that was coined by Georgia rapper Cool Breeze; the Atlanta group Goodie Mob featured the title "Dirty South" on its album Soul Food (1995). The exact…
"Allen's Landing" is the place at the confluence of the White Oak Bayou and the Buffalo Bayou where John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapmen Allen purchased and settled in August 1836,…
The 1995 Rudy Tomjanovich-coached Houston Rockets basketball team were defending NBA champions, but they entered the NBA playoffs with a low seed after a poor regular season. The Rockets went on to…
The city of Pasadena (near Houston) has many petrochemical plants and has been nicknamed "Stinkadena" by many people. According to an internet joke list about Houston (that dates to at…
"NoMad" (or "Nomad") stands for "North of Madison (Square Park)." This recent addition to New York City's many neighborhood nicknames appeared in both the New…
Douglas Manor is part of Douglaston, Queens. The water in Douglas Manor is so dirty that only the heads of swimmers can be seen. Swimmers have been called the "floating heads." Wikipedia:…
Corona (Queens) was home to a large African-American community that once included jazz great Louis Armstrong. Today, Corona is home to many immigrants from Latin America. The old Corona nickname of…
Cioppino (or "ciopino") is a popular dish from the Italian community of San Francisco (ca. 1900), but the dish is also popular in Italian restaurants in New York City and on Long Island.…