About the Website and Site Editor
THE BIG APPLE. An etymological dictionary (over 36,000 entries) investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases, specializing in modern slang, neologisms, nicknames, acronyms, slogans, mottoes, proverbs, adages, idioms. aphorisms, blessings, toasts, mondegreens, riddles, puns, jokes and memes. There are regional dictionaries of New York City, Florida, Oregon and Texas. Established 2004.
BARRY POPIK is a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary of American Regional English, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Yale Book of Quotations and Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Since 1990 he has also been a regular contributor to Gerald Cohen's Comments on Etymology. He is recognized as an expert on the origins of the terms Big Apple, Windy City, hot dog, hamburger and many other food terms, and he is an editor of the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. He has over 7,000 archived posts (from 1996-2007) of commentary on Americanisms to the American Dialect Society email list, ADS-L. This website, The Big Apple, began in New York City in 2004.
Barry was born in Spring Valley in Rockland County, New York, in 1961, and has lived in New York City (1988-2006) and Texas (2006-2013). He was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 2011 and a subsequent hospitalization in 2013 compelled a return to the New York City area. He now lives in Goshen in Orange County, New York, just a few steps from where Noah Webster taught school in the 1780s. He can be reached via email.
LEFT: Angie Popik
CENTER: Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City.
RIGHT: Barry Popik
EVENT: Inauguration of Mayor Bloomberg
DATE: January 1, 2006
LEFT: Angie Popik
CENTER: Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City.
RIGHT: Barry Popik
EVENT: Reception in Honor of the Independence of South America
PLACE: Gracie Mansion, Manhattan
DATE: August 15, 2005
LEFT: Martha E. Stark, New York City Finance Commissioner.
CENTER: Barry Popik, administrative law judge (Finance Department).
RIGHT: Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City.
EVENT: NYC Department of Finance Barbeque
PLACE: Gracie Mansion, Manhattan
DATE: August 2, 2004
With New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly (2005).
With Gerald Cohen (professor, University of Missouri-Rolla and editor of Comments on Etymology) in Aberdeen, Scotland (1996).
With Barbara Lee Diamondstein-Spielvogel of the Landmarks Preservation Center, at the dedication of a "Big Apple" plaque in 1996, at Big Apple Corner. [The plaque was removed by the hotel a year later and was never re-affixed.]
A plaque dedicated to the man who popularized the term "The Big Apple." [The plaque was removed by the hotel a year later and was never re-affixed. Fitz Gerald's correct birth year is 1892.]
DISCLAIMER: These photos do not express or imply that Martha Stark or Michael Bloomberg, personally or through their offices, approve of or have any knowledge of this web site (www.barrypopik.com). This web site is solely the product of its author, Barry Popik.
BORN: Spring Valley, New York (Rockland County)
MARRIED: Angie and Barry Popik
COLLEGE:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
B.S. Economics 1982
B.S. Management 1982
Minors: Computer Science, Communications
LAW SCHOOL:
Touro Law School, Huntington, New York
J.D. 1985
EMPLOYMENT:
1986-1990
Legal Editor
Prentice Hall Publishers
Paramus, NJ
1990-2006
Administrative Law Judge
Parking Violations
New York City
BOOKS:
Studies in Slang, part VI
Edited by Gerald Leonard Cohen and Barry A. Popik
Frankfurt: Peter Lang
1999
Origin of the Term "Hot Dog"
By Gerald Leonard Cohen. David Shulman and Barry A. Popik
Rolla, MO: G. Cohen
2004
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
(two volumes)
consulting editor
Oxford: Oxford University Press
2004
Origin of New York City's Nickname "The Big Apple"
By Gerald Leonard Cohen and Barry A. Popik
Frankfurt: Peter Lang
2011 (second edition; first edition, 1991)
Origin of the Term "Dude"
By Gerald Leonard Cohen, Peter J. Reitan and Barry A. Popik
Rolla, MO: G. Cohen
2022
WORLD TRAVELS
Barry Popik's travels in search of cuisine and new words/slang have taken him to many countries. Search for author (Bapopik) and the country (from the countries, below) in the American Dialect Society listserv's search box at:
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?S1=ads-l
1. Canada
2. United States
3. Mexico
4. Guatemala
5. Honduras
6. Belize
7. Costa Rica
8. Panama
9. Cuba
10. Dominican Republic
11. Bahamas
12. Guyana
13. Suriname
14. French Guiana
15. Ecuador/Galapagos
16. Peru
17. Bolivia
18. Brazil
19. Argentina
20. Chile/Easter Island
21. England/Scotland/Wales
22. Ireland
23. Iceland/Greenland
24. Norway
25. Sweden
26. Denmark
27. Germany
28. Belgium
29. Netherlands
30. France
31. Spain
32. Portugal
33. Austria
34 Hungary
35. Romania
36. Bulgaria
37. Switzerland
38. Liechtenstein
39. Lithuania
40. Latvia
41. Estonia
42. Russia
43. Poland
44. Czech Republic
45. Slovak Republic
46. Ukraine
47. Slovenia
48. Croatia
49. Italy
50. Vatican City
51. San Marino
52. Greece
53. Malta
54. Cyprus
55. Turkey
56. Israel
57. Syria
58. Jordan
59. Egypt
60. Morocco
61. Tunisia
62. Senegal
63. Mali
64. Ghana
65. South Africa
66. Namibia
67. Botswana
68. Swaziland
69. Zambia
70. Zimbabwe
71. Kenya
72. Tanzania/Zanzibar
73. Georgia
74. Armenia
75. Azerbaijan
76. Uzbekistan
77. Kazakstan
78. Kyrgyzstan
79. Tajikistan
80. Turkmenistan
81. India
82. Sri Lanka
83. Cambodia
84. Vietnam
85. China/Tibet
86. Mongolia
87. Bhutan
88. Korea
89. Japan
90. Malaysia
91. Thailand
92. Singapore
93. Australia
94. New Zealand
FUN FACT: THERE IS ONE VISA STAMP ON MY PASSPORT FOR A COUNTRY THAT I'VE NEVER VISITED!
University of Texas-Austin professor Denise Schmandt-Besserat has written books such as Ancient Persia and The Origin of Writing and How Writing Began. In 2001, I had planned to visit Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan with one tour company, and then visit Iran with another tour company (with Schmandt-Besserat as the tour leader).
Getting the four visas was a major hassle. On September 10, 2001, I finally got my visa to Iran, stamped from September 11, 2001.
The tour to Iran was cancelled.
BARRY POPIK is a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary of American Regional English, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Yale Book of Quotations and Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Since 1990 he has also been a regular contributor to Gerald Cohen's Comments on Etymology. He is recognized as an expert on the origins of the terms Big Apple, Windy City, hot dog, hamburger and many other food terms, and he is an editor of the Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink. He has over 7,000 archived posts (from 1996-2007) of commentary on Americanisms to the American Dialect Society email list, ADS-L. This website, The Big Apple, began in New York City in 2004.
Barry was born in Spring Valley in Rockland County, New York, in 1961, and has lived in New York City (1988-2006) and Texas (2006-2013). He was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease in 2011 and a subsequent hospitalization in 2013 compelled a return to the New York City area. He now lives in Goshen in Orange County, New York, just a few steps from where Noah Webster taught school in the 1780s. He can be reached via email.
LEFT: Angie Popik
CENTER: Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City.
RIGHT: Barry Popik
EVENT: Inauguration of Mayor Bloomberg
DATE: January 1, 2006
LEFT: Angie Popik
CENTER: Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City.
RIGHT: Barry Popik
EVENT: Reception in Honor of the Independence of South America
PLACE: Gracie Mansion, Manhattan
DATE: August 15, 2005
LEFT: Martha E. Stark, New York City Finance Commissioner.
CENTER: Barry Popik, administrative law judge (Finance Department).
RIGHT: Michael R. Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City.
EVENT: NYC Department of Finance Barbeque
PLACE: Gracie Mansion, Manhattan
DATE: August 2, 2004
With New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly (2005).
With Gerald Cohen (professor, University of Missouri-Rolla and editor of Comments on Etymology) in Aberdeen, Scotland (1996).
With Barbara Lee Diamondstein-Spielvogel of the Landmarks Preservation Center, at the dedication of a "Big Apple" plaque in 1996, at Big Apple Corner. [The plaque was removed by the hotel a year later and was never re-affixed.]
A plaque dedicated to the man who popularized the term "The Big Apple." [The plaque was removed by the hotel a year later and was never re-affixed. Fitz Gerald's correct birth year is 1892.]
DISCLAIMER: These photos do not express or imply that Martha Stark or Michael Bloomberg, personally or through their offices, approve of or have any knowledge of this web site (www.barrypopik.com). This web site is solely the product of its author, Barry Popik.
BORN: Spring Valley, New York (Rockland County)
MARRIED: Angie and Barry Popik
COLLEGE:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, New York
B.S. Economics 1982
B.S. Management 1982
Minors: Computer Science, Communications
LAW SCHOOL:
Touro Law School, Huntington, New York
J.D. 1985
EMPLOYMENT:
1986-1990
Legal Editor
Prentice Hall Publishers
Paramus, NJ
1990-2006
Administrative Law Judge
Parking Violations
New York City
BOOKS:
Studies in Slang, part VI
Edited by Gerald Leonard Cohen and Barry A. Popik
Frankfurt: Peter Lang
1999
Origin of the Term "Hot Dog"
By Gerald Leonard Cohen. David Shulman and Barry A. Popik
Rolla, MO: G. Cohen
2004
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
(two volumes)
consulting editor
Oxford: Oxford University Press
2004
Origin of New York City's Nickname "The Big Apple"
By Gerald Leonard Cohen and Barry A. Popik
Frankfurt: Peter Lang
2011 (second edition; first edition, 1991)
Origin of the Term "Dude"
By Gerald Leonard Cohen, Peter J. Reitan and Barry A. Popik
Rolla, MO: G. Cohen
2022
WORLD TRAVELS
Barry Popik's travels in search of cuisine and new words/slang have taken him to many countries. Search for author (Bapopik) and the country (from the countries, below) in the American Dialect Society listserv's search box at:
http://listserv.linguistlist.org/cgi-bin/wa?S1=ads-l
1. Canada
2. United States
3. Mexico
4. Guatemala
5. Honduras
6. Belize
7. Costa Rica
8. Panama
9. Cuba
10. Dominican Republic
11. Bahamas
12. Guyana
13. Suriname
14. French Guiana
15. Ecuador/Galapagos
16. Peru
17. Bolivia
18. Brazil
19. Argentina
20. Chile/Easter Island
21. England/Scotland/Wales
22. Ireland
23. Iceland/Greenland
24. Norway
25. Sweden
26. Denmark
27. Germany
28. Belgium
29. Netherlands
30. France
31. Spain
32. Portugal
33. Austria
34 Hungary
35. Romania
36. Bulgaria
37. Switzerland
38. Liechtenstein
39. Lithuania
40. Latvia
41. Estonia
42. Russia
43. Poland
44. Czech Republic
45. Slovak Republic
46. Ukraine
47. Slovenia
48. Croatia
49. Italy
50. Vatican City
51. San Marino
52. Greece
53. Malta
54. Cyprus
55. Turkey
56. Israel
57. Syria
58. Jordan
59. Egypt
60. Morocco
61. Tunisia
62. Senegal
63. Mali
64. Ghana
65. South Africa
66. Namibia
67. Botswana
68. Swaziland
69. Zambia
70. Zimbabwe
71. Kenya
72. Tanzania/Zanzibar
73. Georgia
74. Armenia
75. Azerbaijan
76. Uzbekistan
77. Kazakstan
78. Kyrgyzstan
79. Tajikistan
80. Turkmenistan
81. India
82. Sri Lanka
83. Cambodia
84. Vietnam
85. China/Tibet
86. Mongolia
87. Bhutan
88. Korea
89. Japan
90. Malaysia
91. Thailand
92. Singapore
93. Australia
94. New Zealand
FUN FACT: THERE IS ONE VISA STAMP ON MY PASSPORT FOR A COUNTRY THAT I'VE NEVER VISITED!
University of Texas-Austin professor Denise Schmandt-Besserat has written books such as Ancient Persia and The Origin of Writing and How Writing Began. In 2001, I had planned to visit Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan with one tour company, and then visit Iran with another tour company (with Schmandt-Besserat as the tour leader).
Getting the four visas was a major hassle. On September 10, 2001, I finally got my visa to Iran, stamped from September 11, 2001.
The tour to Iran was cancelled.