Scofflaw
"Scofflaw" is now what people are called who don't pay their parking tickets. However, the word "scofflaw" began as the winning word in a Prohibition-era contest to find a…
Archive for 12/2004
BoCoCa (Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens)
"BoCoCa" is the Brooklyn area of Boerum Hill + Cobble Hill + Carroll Gardens. It's silly, of course, but it's getting some attention so I'll include it here (for what…
San Man
The 1954 hit song "Mr. Sandman" was performed by The Chordettes, with words and music by Pat Ballard. There's no exact date to pinpoint, but some time after that, a man who worked…
Jaywalker (Jay Walker); Jaywalking (Jay Walking)
"Jay walking" (or "jaywalking") was first named and popularized in Kansas City, not New York. "Jay," according to the Historical Dictionary of American Slang, is…
Alligator in the sewers (urban myth)
It's a popular urban legend that there are alligators in the New York City sewer. I found the first such newspaper article, from 1907. The most famous example is from 1935. Alligators…
Green Book (Official Directory)
"The Green Book" is called that because - surprise! - it's green. The formal name is the "Official Directory," but it was soon dubbed the "little green book." It…
Evacuation Day (November 25th)
"Evacuation Day" celebrates the evacuation of British troops from New York City on November 25, 1783. It used to be a great New York celebration, but now it is almost totally forgotten.…
Working Girl
"Working Girl" was the title of a 1988 New York-based movie, directed by Mike Nichols and starring Melanie Griffith, Harrison Ford, Sigourney Weaver, and Joan Cusack. "I'm in…
Master of the Universe
Tom Wolfe's 1987 novel The Bonfire of the Vanities (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux) coined this term for Wall Street. It's not used much today. The true "Master of the…
Greater New York
"Greater New York" was a term used much in the 1890s when the unification of the boroughs was being discussed. The unification occurred in 1898. It was used after 1898. In 1903, an early…
Chelsea Market
Chelsea Market, between 15th and 16th Streets and Ninth and Tenth Avenues, opened in April 1997. It's a pleasant place to eat food or to buy food products. Every neighborhood should have one…
Fulton Fish Market
The Fulton Fish Market was on Fulton Street in Manhattan. In 2005, it moved to the Bronx Hunts Point area. Former New York Governor Al Smith got his start with what he called an "F.F.M."…
Paddy’s Market (formerly of Ninth Avenue)
"Paddy's Market," from 35th to 42nd Streets on Ninth Avenue, began in the 1880s and died with the Lincoln Tunnel construction of 1937. It used to be full of pushcarts on a Saturday…
Ninth Avenue International Food Festival
The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival has been held each May since 1974, from about 37th to 57th Streets. The festival reflects the international character of this avenue in Manhattan. In my…
Feast of San Gennaro
The Feast of San Gennaro is probably the worst time to visit Little Italy, but nobody asks me. It's been held on Mulberry Street since September 1926 and is one of New York's most…
Give me your tired, your poor (“The New Colossus”)
Emma Lazarus wrote "The New Colossus" poem in 1883. It was affixed to the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1903. She did not coin the term "new Colossus." See the 1878…
“New York’s My Home” (1956)
"New York's My Home" (1956) was composed by Gordon Jenkins and performed by Sammy Davis, Jr. It contains the lyric "When you leave New York, man, you don't go…
Algonquin Hotel (“Gonk” & the “Round Table”)
The Algonquin Hotel, at 59 West 44th Street, was the place of the "Algonquin Round Table" or "Vicious Circle" of writers of the 1920s. It is believed that writer and wit Dorothy…
“When you leave New York, your next good meal will be in San Francisco”
Yes, there's good food in New York and there's good food San Francisco. Some say that you can get a good meal in New Orleans. See "Names and Phrases" for other ways to finish…
When you leave New York…
"When you leave New York..." There are many ways to finish this, but all generally tell you that you're not going anywhere special. "When you leave New York you are camping…