Balloon Wrangler
Horse wranglers take care of horses and are, perhaps, the most famous of all "wranglers." Balloon wranglers take care of balloons. At the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, balloon…
Archive for 08/2008
Balloonicle (balloon + float)
The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade introduced a "balloonicle" (balloon + vehicle) in 2004. A "ballonicle" inflates just as a ballloon does, but can be driven down the…
Falloon (float + balloon)
A "falloon" is a combination float/balloon; the term was introduced at Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The first "falloon" was introduced to the parade about 1990 --…
Inflation Eve (balloon-inflating for Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade)
"Inflation Eve" is the night before Thanksgiving day when all of the balloons that will be featured in Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade are inflated. The inflation takes place between…
Necklace Lighting (“necklace lights” on suspension bridges)
The lights on the cables of New York's suspension bridges look like necklaces at night. The "necklace lighting" began on the Triborough Bridge and Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (in 1964);…
Toxicana (Texarkana nickname)
The city of Texarkana in Bowie County has three sites on the Environmental Protection Agency's National Priorities List for cleanup. An article by James Presley in the March 10, 1989 Texas…
BOI (Born On the Island) & IBC (Islander By Choice)
Galveston has two distinctions for the people (non-tourists) who live there: "BOI" (Born On the Island) and "IBC" (Islander By Choice). "BOI" is cited in print from at…
“My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys”
"My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" is the title of a Sharon Rice/Sharon Vaughn-written song that appeared on the 1976 album Wanted! The Outlaws by Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi…
Dirty Third (Dirty 3rd)
Houston rappers have named their turf the "Dirty Third" or "Dirty 3rd" -- taken from the terms "Dirty South" (current from 1995) and "Third Coast" (current…
Dirty South
"Dirty South" is a term that was coined by Georgia rapper Cool Breeze; the Atlanta group Goodie Mob featured the title "Dirty South" on its album Soul Food (1995). The exact…
Houston’s Plymouth Rock & Houston’s Heart (Allen’s Landing)
"Allen's Landing" is the place at the confluence of the White Oak Bayou and the Buffalo Bayou where John Kirby Allen and Augustus Chapmen Allen purchased and settled in August 1836,…
“Don’t ever underestimate the heart of a champion.” (Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich)
The 1995 Rudy Tomjanovich-coached Houston Rockets basketball team were defending NBA champions, but they entered the NBA playoffs with a low seed after a poor regular season. The Rockets went on to…
“Oh, we must be in Pasadena!”
The city of Pasadena (near Houston) has many petrochemical plants and has been nicknamed "Stinkadena" by many people. According to an internet joke list about Houston (that dates to at…
NoMad (North of Madison Square Park)
"NoMad" (or "Nomad") stands for "North of Madison (Square Park)." This recent addition to New York City's many neighborhood nicknames appeared in both the New…
Floating Head (Douglas Manor swimmer)
Douglas Manor is part of Douglaston, Queens. The water in Douglas Manor is so dirty that only the heads of swimmers can be seen. Swimmers have been called the "floating heads." Wikipedia:…
Little Harlem & Little Latin America (Corona, Queens)
Corona (Queens) was home to a large African-American community that once included jazz great Louis Armstrong. Today, Corona is home to many immigrants from Latin America. The old Corona nickname of…
Cioppino (Ciopino; Ciuppin)
Cioppino (or "ciopino") is a popular dish from the Italian community of San Francisco (ca. 1900), but the dish is also popular in Italian restaurants in New York City and on Long Island.…
Yiddish Broadway or Yiddish Rialto (Second Avenue in Manhattan)
The Lower East Side of Manhattan had numerous Yiddish theaters in the early 1900s, but most of them disappeared by the 1940s. The area was called the "Yiddish Rialto" by at least 1908.…
Poor Man’s Riviera (Coney Island)
Coney Island has provided a beach and entertainment for everyone -- rich and poor alike. The nickname "poor man's Riviera" (or "working man's Riviera" or…
Bronx Riviera (Orchard Beach)
Orchard Beach in the Bronx was opened by Parks Commissioner Robert Moses in the 1930s; it was so grand that it was called "the Riviera of New York." Other, Bronx-specific nicknames for…