Touch Football
Entry in progress. Wikipedia is wrong that this originated in the Navy in the 1940s. Touch football was popular for a long time on NYC streets -- B.P. Wikipedia: Touch football (American)Touch…
Archive for 04/2008
The City of Opportunity (Seagoville slogan)
"The City of Opportunity" is the slogan of the city of Seagoville, near Dallas. The city boasts small town living near a big city. The origin of its untrademarked slogan "The City of…
“The Company You Love to Hate” (Con Edison)
'The Company You Love to Hate" was the cover caption of Fortune magazine's March 1966 story about Con Edison. The blackout of November 9, 1965 caused many New York City residents to…
Stoopball (Stoop Ball)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Stoop ballStoop ball (also spelled "stoopball") is a game that is played by throwing a ball against a stoop (stairs leading up to a building) on the…
Johnny-on-a-Pony (Johnny-Ride-a-Pony)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Buck buckBuck Buck (also known as "Johnny on a Pony", "Matupaki or Chinchilagua") is a popular team game that has been played for many…
Sermon on the Mound (Pope delivering Mass at Yankee Stadium)
Pope Paul VI gave Mass at Yankee Stadium in October 1965. It was quickly called the "Sermon on the Mound" -- a linguistic borrowing from the "Sermon on the Mount." Pope John…
Chinese Burrito or Chinese Taco (Moo Shoo Pork or Moo Shu Pork or Moo Shi Pork)
Moo shu pork (also "moo shoo pork" or "moo shi pork") is cited in English from at least 1962; by the late 1960s, moo shu pork became a popular New York City Chinese dish. The…
Boodle Board (Board of Aldermen)
The Board of Aldermen was notoriously corrupt in the 19th century, sometimes earning itself the nickname "Forty Thieves." The 1884 Board of Aldermen became nicknamed the "boodle…
Forty Thieves
The name "forty thieves" is taken from the story "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves," from The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights). One of New York City's…
“Alderman, your saloon is on fire!”
About the year 1900, New York City had many saloons. The board of aldermen then existed (now called the city council), and many of these aldermen used the saloons in their political organizations.…
“Big Apple” (song by Kajagoogoo, 1983)
"Big Apple" is a 1983 song by the British pop band Kajagoogoo. A repeated lyric in the song is: "Life in the big apple moves very fast and so must you." A YouTube video of…
Big Friendly (summary)
"Big Friendly" is a trademarked (March 2007) nickname for Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The nickname appears similar to the Big Apple (New York City) and the Big Easy (New Orleans). The…
Friendly City (Austin nickname)
"The Friendly City" has been an Austin nickname since 1925, when it was promoted by the city's chamber of commerce. In the 2000s, this was replaced with the popular unofficial…
Punchball (Punch Ball)
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Dictionary of American Regional English)punchball n esp NYCA game similar to baseball played with a rubber ball that is hit with the fist.1935 Ware Greenwich Village 144…
Box Ball (Boxball)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Dictionary.combox·ball /ˈbɒksˌbɔl/ [boks-bawl]–noun a game played between two players on two adjoining squares or sections of a sidewalk or a playground, in which a…
Chinese Handball
"Chinese handball" is similar to "American handball." It is called "Chinese" not because it comes from China or was popular in Chinatown or was played by Chinese…
Spaldeen (Spalding High-Bounce Ball)
"Spaldeen" is the New York City name for the Spalding High-Bounce Ball, first manufactured in 1949. Spaldeens were used in many street games, such as stickball, punchball, stoop ball, and…
Deep-Dish Pizza (Chicago-Style Pizza)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Chicago-style pizzaChicago-style pizza is a deep-dish pizza style developed in Chicago. The term also sometimes refers to "stuffed" pizza, another…
Football-Shaped Pizza (Football Pizza)
Pizzas come in many shapes -- circular, rectangular, and even football-shaped. The "football pizza" can be cited at least as far back as 1960, but was popularized when the national pizza…
Surfboard Pizza
"Surfboard pizza" is a specialty of Don Ho's Bar & Grill, founded in 1998 by the Hawaiian entertainer Don Ho (1930-2007). The flatboard pizzas (served on a mini-surfboard lifted…