“Show us your shoes!” (San Antonio Battle of Flowers Parade cry)
"Show us your shoes!" is a cry made at San Antonio's Fiesta in late April, at the Battle of Flowers Parade. The dutchesses, queen, and princess on royalty floats often wear tennis…
“The days of wine and roses are over” (Gov. Hugh Carey)
"Days of wine and roses" was the title of a 1962 film starring Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick, and directed by Blake Edwards. The line comes from an 1896 poem by English writer Ernest Dowson…
Submarine Sandwich (Sub Sandwich)
The "hero sandwich" is a regional sandwich name popular in New York City since the 1930s; "submarine sandwich" has been popular since the late 1930s and "sub"…
Cowboy Beans
"Cowboy beans" are usually the same as charro beans (frijoles charros; frijoles a la charra). Sometimes "cowboys beans" is another name for simply "pork and beans."…
Charro Beans (Frijoles Charros; Frijoles a la Charra; Cowboy Beans)
"Charro beans" (also known in Spanish as frijoles charros and frijoles a la charra) are sometimes translated as "cowboy beans." The dish comes from Guadalajara, Mexico and…
Infinity Apple (GreeNYC symbol, 2007)
In 2007, NYC & Co. (New York City's tourism bureau, formerly the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau that re-popularized "the Big Apple" in the 1970s) promoted…
Snickerdoodles
"Snickerdoodles" are drop cookies topped with cinnamon sugar that are cited in print from at least 1889. The cookie is simple, but the origin of the cookie's fanicful name is…
Tunnel of Fudge Cake
"Tunnel of Fudge Cake" was the second-prize winning recipe in the 17th annual Pillsbury Bake-Off in 1966. Houston resident Ella Rita Helfrich invented the cake; Pillsbury promotions of…
Oyster Nachos
"Oyster nachos" are nachos (tortilla chips) with fried oysters. The Dallas-based restaurant chain Fish City Grill claims to be "Home of the Oyster Nacho" and trademarked…
Texas Crud
"The crud" is military slang for a real or imaginary disease, first recorded in the publication American Speech in 1932. Many people in Texas often get "the crud" -- defined as…
Falafel or Felafel
"Falafel" (of "felafel") is a popular dish in Israel and in Middle Eastern restaurants and food stands throughout the world. Falafel is also popular in New York's Greenwich…
American Chop Suey
"American chop suey" usually contains ground beef, macaroni, and tomato sauce and is very different from "Chinese chop suey." The dish is often called "goulash" in…
Cow Patty Bingo (Cow Chip Bingo; Cowpie Bingo; Bovine Bingo: Bossy Bingo; Fertilizer Lottery)
"Cow patty bingo" (also called "cow chip bingo," "cowpie bingo," bovine bingo," "bossy bingo," "fertilizer lottery," "cow pat…
Chicken Bingo (Chicken Poop Bingo; Chicken Shit Bingo)
"Chicken bingo" (also called "chicken poop bingo" or "chicken shit bingo") is a game where a chicken is let loose on a checkerboard and poops in a square. A holder of…
Mom ‘n ‘em (Mom an’ ‘em)
"Mom 'n 'em" (or "mom an' 'em," also hyphenated as "mom-n-em" or "mom-an-em") means "mom and them," usually used as a greeting…
Bad News Bear (Bear Stearns nickname)
Bear Stearns is a brokerage firm that was founded in New York City in 1923. In March 2008, the firm's stock price fell rapidly and negotiations were made to sell the firm. Bear Stearns was…
Texana or Texiana or Texicana (“all things Texas”)
America has "Americana," so Texas has -- ? Three words have historically been used to describe "all things Texas" -- Texana, Texiana and Texicana. "Texiana" and…
“Metropolis is New York by day; Gotham City is New York by night”
Both Superman's Metropolis and Batman's Gotham City are said by some to be comic book representations of New York City, but the visions of both comics are very different. "Metropolis…
Metropolis (New Metropolis)
"Metropolis" (from the Greek word polis for "city") means "a large city" and is not a city nickname peculiar to New York City. Philadelphia was called the…
Gotham City
"Gotham" has been a nickname for New York City since the 1807 publication of the Salmagundi Papers by Washington Irving and James Kirke Paulding. On December 13, 1940, one comic book used…