Pelado
"Pelado" means "to peel." Pelados were the shirtless of Mexico, the underclass. The slang term has been used frequently in parts of Texas, especially along the border.…
Neighborhoods
Pellizcada (“pinched” tortilla appetizer)
Pellizcada (Spanish for "pinched") is a Mexican appetizer similar to a gordita and a chalupa. Tortillas dough is "pinched" up around the edges to contain a filling, and then…
Penguine or Penguini (penguin pasta)
"Linguine" is a pasta. The continent of Antarctica doesn't have a "penguine" or "penguini" pasta made for (or of) penguins -- and there is no such named pasta…
Penguini or Penguine (penguin pasta)
"Linguine" is a pasta. The continent of Antarctica doesn't have a "penguine" or "penguini" pasta made for (or of) penguins -- and there is no such named pasta…
Penis Motel & “So Close Yet So Far Out” (Austin Motel)
The Austin Motel (in the capital city of Austin, on Congress Avenue) has been family owned and operated since 1938. The motel boasts an original red 1938 neon sign that some see as a "middle…
Pennsylvania: “Pennsylvania is Philadelphia and Pittsburgh at the ends, Alabama in between”
American political strategist James Carville ran Democratic campaigns in Pennsylvania in the 1980s. He described the state as mostly rural -- with Philadelphia on one end and Pittsburgh on the…
Pennsylvania: “Where do pencils come from?”/“Pencil-vania.”
Do pencils come from Pennsylvania? "Most of the ordinary slate pencils come from Pencil-vania" was printed in the Pittsfield (MA) Sun on December 27, 1876. "Pencils come from…
Pennsylvania: “Where do pencils come from?”/“Pennsylvania.”
Do pencils come from Pennsylvania? "Most of the ordinary slate pencils come from Pencil-vania" was printed in the Pittsfield (MA) Sun on December 27, 1876. "Pencils come from…
Pennsylvania: Keystone State (nickname)
Pennsylvania has been called the "Keystone State" for several reasons. A keystone is a wedge-shaped stone that holds an arch in place. Pennsylvania was located in the center of the 13…
Penny Lick
A 'penny lick" was a glass of ice cream that sold for a penny. The term was popular in the 1890s, just before the invention of the ice cream cone. It is not known if the "penny…
Penny-Pinching (Penny-Pincher)
A "penny-pincher" is someone who is extremely frugal and who counts every penny. The English dramatist Thomas Dekker (1572-1632) wrote "Hang these penny-pinching fathers" in his…
Pentagram (Pentagon nickname)
The Pentagon is the five-sided building in Arlington, Virginia, that is the headquarters for the United States Department of Defense; the term "Pentagon" is often used metonymically for…
People Eating Tasty Animals (PETA parody/nickname)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an animal rights organization, founded in 1980. In 1996, meat eaters did a PETA parody and registered a web address for "People Eating…
People’s Beach (Jacob Riis Park)
Jacob Riis (1849-1914) was a journalist/photographer famous for his book, How the Other Half Lives: Studies among the Tenements of New York (1890). Riis attempted to expose the plight of the poor…
People’s House (Gracie Mansion)
Manhattan's Gracie Mansion, built in 1799, has been the mayor's official residence since Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia moved there in 1942. Mayor Michael Bloomberg declined to live there,…
People’s Microphone or People’s Mic/Mike (using voices for amplified sound)
The September 2011 "Occupy Wall Street" protests didn't have a permit to have amplified sound (such as a bullhorn). Instead, a speaker would speak a few words and the crowd would act…
People’s News Network (Twitter nickname)
Twitter is an online networking serivce for short messages. "Twitter = The People's News Network" was posted on Twitter on May 1, 2011, after it first made news on Twitter that Osama…
People’s Opera (New York City Opera)
The New York City Opera (NYCO) was founded in 1943 and was called the "people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (1882-1946). NYCO's purpose was to reach a wide…
People’s Palace (NYPL Stephen A. Schwarzman Building)
The Main Branch of the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan (Stephen A. Schwarzman Building), opened in 1911 and celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011. The…
People’s Republic of Austin (Austin nickname)
Austin is more liberal than the rest of Texas. Austin isn't Communist China, but it's nevertheless acquired the infrequent nickname of "The People's Republic of Austin."…