Rubber Room
A "rubber room" originally meant a room walled with rubber (where an insane person couldn't hurt himself). This meaning dates to at least the 1930s. New York Times columnist William…
Alphebetical for "r"
Rubbermen or Red Menace
"Rubbermen" or "Red Menace" are cop terms (especially television's NYPD Blue) for members of the fire department. http://www.faqs.org/faqs/tv/nypd-blue/Red Menace…
Rubberneck Row
"Rubberneck Row" was Forty-Fourth Street. Tourist buses used to visit that street around about 1900. Visitor would at attractions from one side of the street to the other. Their necks…
Rubies of the Pines (New Jersey cranberries)
New Jersey's Pine Barrens helps make New Jersey the third largest cranberry producing state. Its cranberries have been dubbed "The Rubies of the Pines" since at least 1991. Union…
Rucker basketball tournament (“each one teach one”)
The Rucker basketball tournament in Harlem was conceived in the 1940s and 1950s by Holcombe Rucker, a parks department worker who died of cancer in 1965 at age 38. His motto was "each one…
Rugelach
I found one of the first citations (1941) for "rugelach." This is a difficult food to trace because the names and spelling vary widely.…
Rules of Eighth Avenue (boxing at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan)
There have been several "Rules of Eighth Avenue." The third Madison Square Garden was located on Eighth Avenue, between 49th and 50th Street in Manhattan, from 1925 to 1968. It hosted…
Rules of Eighth Avenue (in Manhattan)
There have been several "Rules of Eighth Avenue." The third Madison Square Garden was located on Eighth Avenue, between 49th and 50th Street in Manhattan, from 1925 to 1968. It hosted…
Rum Raisin
"Rum Raisin" is a flavor most often used in ice cream; the raisins are soaked in rum. It's not known who invented "rum raisin," but it was listed in several ice cream shops…
Rum Rita or Rumrita (cocktail)
A "Rum Rita" (or "Rumrita") is a "Margarita" cocktail, with rum included instead of tequila. In 2000, there was a tequila shortage and restaurants were facing…
Run for the Carnations (Belmont Stakes)
The Belmont Stakes (the third race of horseracing's Triple Crown) has been called the 'Run for the Carnations." The Kentucky Derby (the first race of the Triple Crown) has long been…
Run for the Orchids (Louisiana Derby)
"Run for the Orchids" is the nickname of a horse race, much like the "Run for the Roses" (Kentucky Derby) and the "Run for the Carnations" (Belmont Stakes). The term…
Run for the Roses (Kentucky Derby)
The Kentucky Derby has been called the "Run for the Roses," after the red rose that has been the official flower of the Kentucky Derby since 1904. A rose garland (with white and pink…
Run, Death Is Near (Remdesivir nickname)
Remdesivir is a product by the biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences that was approved in November 2020, during the COIVD-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, for the treatment of COVID-19. Many critics…
Runnin’ Scared (Village Voice column)
"Runnin' Scared" is the name of a political news column (and later, a blog) in the Village Voice newspaper and on its website. The newspaper column was started in the late 1960s by…
Runsploring (running + exploring); Runsplorer
"Runsploring" (running + exploring) allows a person to both run and explore, with stops made at interesting locations. A "runsploring" group began in San Francisco on June 13,…
Runway Food
"Down With Runway Food" by Drew Magary was published on Deadspin -- The Concourse on May 2, 2014. Magary referred to food at restaurants so expensive that only the very rich and a few…
Ruppert’s Riflemen (New York Yankees nickname)
American brewer, businessman, National Guard colonel and politician Jacob Ruppert Jr. (1867-1939) owned the New York Yankees baseball team from 1915 until his death in 1939. the Yankees were…
Ruppert’s Rifles (New York Yankees nickname)
American brewer, businessman, National Guard colonel and politician Jacob Ruppert Jr. (1867-1939) owned the New York Yankees baseball team from 1915 until his death in 1939. the Yankees were…
Rush Hour
"Rush hour" is often believed (incorrectly) to have originated with the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge on May 24, 1883. "Rush hour" traffic occurred in the morning (when people…