The Town Without a Toothache (Hereford slogan)
On January 29, 1942, the popularly syndicated newspaper feature "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" called Hereford, Texas "The Town Without a Toothache." Dr. George W. Heard…
Origin of “Tar Heel” (North Carolina nickname)
The Turk (person to cut a player from the team)
"The Turk" is the Grim Reaper of the National Football League -- the team official that tells a player to take his playbook and speak with the coach because that player has just been cut…
The Unexpected Borough (Staten Island)
Staten Island, New York City's least populated borough, has been called the "forgotten borough" since at least the 1920s. To remedy this, in December 2018, Staten Island promoted…
The United States of Goldman Sachs
Hank Paulson, a former chairman and chief executive officer of the financial firm of Goldman Sachs, was United States Treasury Secretary from July 2, 2006-January 20, 2009. The influence of Goldman…
The Unmentionable Play (name used to avoid “Macbeth” curse)
William Shakespeare's play Macbeth includes witches, and theater tradition has it that the play is cursed. Saying the play's name or its lines (outside of an actual performance) is said…
The Village (airplane coach seating section)
Reader's Digest (November 2010) did a short article on airline lingo and included this definition: "Working the village: Working in coach." In 2014, one "flight attendant's…
The World’s Borough (Queens)
The New York City borough of Queens has a large international population; the borough hosted both the 1939 New York World's Fair and the 1964 New York World's Fair. In October 2014,…
The Worst Airline (Trans World Airlines or TWA backronymic nickname)
Trans World Airlines (TWA) existed from 1925 through 2001 and was once one of the world's largest airlines, with a terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. TWA has been given the…
The worst part of spanking a disobedient child in the supermarket is…”
"The worst thing about spanking a disobedient child in the supermarket is having absolutely no idea who’s child it is" was posted on Twitter by Marty Fields on May 5, 2015. "The…
The Year the Big Apple Went Bust (book by Fred Ferretti, 1976)
The Year the Big Apple Went Bust (1976) is the title of a book by New York (NY) Times reporter Fred Ferretti, who died in 2022 at age 90. The book chronicles New York City's fiscal crisis in…
The Young Turds or The Dumb Turds (The Young Turks nickname)
The Young Turks (TYT Network) was founded in 2002 and bills itself as "The Largest Online News Show in the World." The Young Turks were given the nickname "The Young Turds" in…
Theater Row
West 42nd Steet became "Theater Row" in the 1970s. In recent years, "Theater Row" has been redeveloped to accommodate new housing and newer theaters. The shows are small,…
Theatre of the Absurd (Theater of the Absurd)
The term "Theatre of the Absurd" (also "Theater of the Absurd") comes from an essay with that title, by Martin Esslin (1918-2002), in The Tulane Drama Review (May 1960). Esslin…
Theatre of the Absurd, 2005
This is how it's been for about ten years now:... ...4 March 2005, Tulsa World, "Historical facts," pg. A18:"The big what?" (Feb. 25) about the new campaign by New York…
Theft by Cop (civil asset forfeiture)
Police often take a person's property (such as cash, a car and even a house) on the suspicion of a crime -- although frequently no criminal charges are ever filed. Many critics have argued…
Themhattan (them + Manhattan)
"Themhattan" (them + Manhattan) is a jocular name to get the "man" out of the borough of "Manhattan." "I am offended by this. It should clearly by Theyhattan or…
ThemTube (YouTube nickname)
YouTube is an American video-sharing website that began in February 2005. In November 2006, Google purchased YouTube. Those who have criticized Google's operation of YouTube (such as issues of…
There are many apples on the tree, but when you pick NYC, you pick the Big Apple (1975)
The New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, led by president Charles Gillett (1915-1995), re-popularized the term "Big Apple" with its advertising campaign in the 1970s. In May 1975,…
There’s a sucker born every minute (NY gambler slang, but not P. T. Barnum)
"There's a sucker born every minute" has been attached to showman P. T. Barnum, but a detailed examination of everything he ever wrote has failed to produce the phrase. He either…
Theyhattan (they + Manhattan)
"Theyhattan" (they + Manhattan) is a jocular name to get the "man" out of the borough of "Manhattan." "I am offended by this. It should clearly by Theyhattan or…