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…
Hot Dog (Polo Grounds myth & a full etymology)
The word "hot dog" was not coined at the Polo Grounds, at Madison Square Garden, or even in New York City. This has been exhaustively detailed in a Gerald Cohen, David Shulman and Barry…
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…
I’d rather be a lamppost in New York than mayor anywhere else
This saying goes way, way back. It has been said in various forms; a friend of mine remembers the boxer Sonny Liston saying that he'd rather be a lamppost in Harlem than mayor of Philadelphia.…
Bronx Cocktail
The Bronx cocktail was invented around 1900. An article in February 1901 credited "J. E. O'Connor of the Waldorf-Astoria, inventor of the 'Bronx Cocktail.'" A 1932 article…
Ambulance Chaser
"Ambulance chaser" is another derogatory term for a lawyer (see also the 1840s term"shyster"). An "ambulance chaser" preys on accident victims to sign them up to…
“Greatest Show on Earth”
The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus bills itself as "The Greatest Show on Earth." Trademark records show a first use on July 21, 1891. New York City-born entertainer Dan…
Fugeddaboutit! (“forget about it”)
"Fugeddaboutit" is not in Irving Lewis Allen's City in Slang (1993). I remember its use in a popular 1990s radio ad for Tops Appliance City. The Works Progress Administration in the…
Wall Street (from a graveyard to a river)
Wall Street (the financial capital of the United States) is, according to the old saying, "between a river and a graveyard" -- the East River and Trinity Church Cemetery. The comment has…
Big Onion
In 1991, "Big Onion" Walking Tours started in New York City. I keep thinking they have the wrong city. Chicago is often called the "big onion" because some people think…
Skycap
The word "skycap," like "scofflaw," entered the language as a contest winner. Willie Wainwright, of New Orleans, won $100 in 1940 for his suggestion of "skycap" for…
Egg Cream
An "egg cream" contains neither eggs nor cream. The usual contents are seltzer, chocolate syrup (Fox's U-bet), and milk. The egg cream has been described as a chocolate soda without…
Manhattan Clam Chowder (Coney Island Clam Chowder; Fulton Market Clam Chowder)
"Manhattan clam chowder" is the chowder with tomatoes. "New England clam chowder" is the common name for chowder without tomatoes. Some say that "Manhattan" clam…
Big A (Aqueduct Racetrack nickname, 1959)
Aqueduct racetrack is popularly known as "the Big A." Clark Whelton (a former writer for the Village Voice and member of the mayor's communications office) told me that he believed…
Amazin’ Mets (Amazins)
The Amazin' New York Mets, or simply the "Amazins," has been a popular nickname through the baseball team's existence. The nickname was created before they played a single…
Buy/Sell the Brooklyn Bridge
"Don't buy the Brooklyn Bridge!" This classic piece of advise is given to visitors to New York City. In the early years of this century, people were swindled. I'd like to add…