Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
"Where Sunshine Spends the Winter" was/is a slogan for San Antonio, El Paso, the Rio Grande Valley, Long Beach (CA), Tucson (AZ), Phoenix (AZ), and probably other places as well. In 1924,…
San Antonio is home to Fort Sam Houston and other military bases. So many military men (including Dwight D. Eisenhower) married women while serving in the San Antonio area that the city has been…
The Greenspoint District (known as "the downtown of Houston's north side") experienced a crime wave in the late 1980s-early 1990s. The nicknames "Gunspoint" and, to a…
"Ghost voting" (also called "button punching" or "button pushing") occurs in the Texas House of Representatives when a representative is away from the desk, and…
A "six-shooter" is a revolver capable of firing six shots before reloading. The Texas towns of Harlingen, Hempstead, Kenedy, and Waco have all claimed to be known as "Six Shooter…
"Gringolandia" is the "land" of the "Gringos" ("Americans" or "Yankees"). "Gringolandia" today most often refers to the United States of…
"San Anto" means "San Antonio" in Chicano slang. This slang (called "Caló") was popular with Mexican-Americans in the 1970s, when several citations of "San…
The city of San Antonio was named by Spanish explorers and missionaries who discovered a river of June 13 (the feast day of Saint Anthony) in 1691. The river was named "San Antonio" and…
Texas has been under six flags -- Spain, France, Mexico, Republic of Texas, Confederate States of America, and United States of America. The city of Laredo, Texas claims seven flags -- one for the…
Texas prides itself to have been under six different flags, but the city of Laredo was under seven flags. The short-lived (January- November 1840) Republic of Rio Grande was centered in Laredo.…
The Big Texan Texan Steak Ranch in Amarillo has advertised "Home of the free 72-oz. steak" since 1963. You have to prepay your meal, eat the whole thing within an hour, plus bread and…
San Antonio is home to the Alamo (one of the most famous of all Texas battles). San Antonio is also home to Fort Sam Houston, Lackland Air Force Base, Randolph Air Force Base, Brooks Field, and has…
A "cantina" is a bar or saloon. Tex-Mex restaurants often use the name "cantina." The "cantina" (for "saloon") had been popular in Mexico and in Texas by the…
Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABTs) (also called "Wolf Turds") are hollowed-out jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese ("Armadillo Eggs") wrapped in bacon, with a smoked sausage added in…
"Pambazo" is a dark bread, from the Spanish "pan bajo," or "bread eaten by the poor." In Vera Cruz (Mexico), "pambazo" is also a sandwich filled with…
"Taco trucks" (or "taco trailers") have become ubiquitous in Texas cities such as Houston and Austin, and in cities all throughout the United States. The taco trucks are…
Atomic Buffalo Turds (ABTs) are hollowed-out jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese ("Armadillo Eggs") wrapped in bacon, with a smoked sausage added in the middle. Depite the…
Calgary (in the province of Alberta, Canada) has oil riches, much like Houston, Texas. Calgary also has a rodeo and cattle tradition, much like the cowboys and the steakhouses of Texas. The…
For over one hundred years, a ball has been dropped from a pole in New York City to signify the birth of a new year. The tradition has been popularized by the building at One Times Square, but…
Six-man football allows smaller schools that can't field 11-man teams to still play the game. Six-man football was invented by Stephen Epler in Nebraska, but the game really took root in…