Pot Roast (Yankee Pot Roast)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Pot roast (beef)Pot roast is a braised beef dish. Pot roast is typically made by browning a roast-sized piece of beef (often taken from the tougher chuck cut)…
Archive for 02/2009
Cheese (“Cheese it—the cops!”)
"Cheese it!" was a popular expression in the 19th century, usually a warning from one person to another to stop their current activity because a policeman was approaching ('Cheese it…
Big Cheese
"Big cheese" was a popular slang term in the 1900s, almost two decades before the "Big Apple" became popular in the 1920s. "Big cheese" is cited in print from at least…
“Roll up the sidewalks at night”
New York City is known as the "city that never sleeps" because of its nightlife. The opposite of that is a small town that "rolls up the sidewalks" at about 7 p.m. The term…
“Step on a crack, break your mother’s back” (sidewalk saying)
There are various superstitions about where to step while walking on the sidewalk. "Step on a crack, break your mother's back" dates to at least 1905. "Step on a nail, put your…
Staten Island Ferry (cocktail)
A Staten Island Ferry cocktail is cited on Wikipedia/Wikitender as consisting of rum and pineapple -- a piña colada without the coconut cream (that is not native to Staten Island, New York). The…
“One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, Floor!”
A popular T-shirt ode to drinking tequila is: "One Tequila, Two Tequila, Three Tequila, FLOOR!" The saying dates to 1995. The tequila saying is taken from the simple counting game:…
“On the wagon” (“Off the wagon”)
Entry in progress -- B.P. The Free Dictionaryoff the wagon Slang No longer abstaining from alcoholic beverages.on the wagon Slang Abstaining from alcoholic beverages. Merriam-Webster Dictionaryoff…
Agita (Agida; Acida)
"Agita" achieved its greatest fame as a song title in the Woody Allen film Broadway Danny Rose (1984). The movie featured the Carnegie Deli and the "Agita" song mentioned…
OAMC (Once-A-Month Cooking)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Once-a-month cooking The concept of once-a-month cooking (OAMC) is to spend a set time cooking, be it a day or two, but with an end result of having enough…
Cook-Off (Cookoff)
A "cook-off" is a cooking competition. Cook-offs often limit themselves to a particular food, such as "chili cook-offs." The term "cook-off" began in 1936 at the…
Bake-Off
The first Pillsbury "Bake-Off" (then officially titled the "Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest") took place in 1949 at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The name…
“What, no spinach?”
"What, no spinach?" was an unlikely slang phrase that became popular in the 1920s and 1930s. It originated in a New York newspaper cartoon drawing (the original hasn't yet been…
“Yes! We Have No Bananas”
"Yes! We Have No Bananas" is a popular song, written by Frank Silver and Irving Cohen in 1922. Eddie Cantor sung it in the 1922 Broadway revue Make It Snappy. The song tells of a Greek…
Wall Street South (Charlotte, NC nickname)
Charlotte, North Carolina has been called "Wall Street South" because of the presence of both Bank of America and Wachovia in the city. In September 2008, Bank of America agreed to buy…
Mary Ann Pan (Mary Ann Cake Pan)
Entry in progress -- B.P. The Cook's Thesaurus - Baking EquipmentMary Ann pan Notes: When inverted, cakes made with this pan have a large depression in the middle that can hold fillings.…
Half-and-Half (dairy product)
"Half-and-half" is -- among other combinations -- half cream and half milk, a dairy product frequently added to coffee. Rules were made in 1954 by state and city health departments and…
Mexican Turnip (jicama nickname)
The jicama has been called a "Mexican turnip" since at least 1959; jicamas became popular in the United States since the 1970s. The bulbous root vegetable is a member of the legume family…
Mexican Potato (jicama nickname)
The jicama has been called a “Mexican potato” since at least 1972; jicamas became popular in the United States since the early 1970s. The bulbous root vegetable is a member of the legume family…
Poor Man’s Oyster (mussel; snail; clam)
There have been many seafood claims on the term "poor man's oyster," with mussels, snails and clams all claiming the title. ("Poor man's oyster" is also the name of a…