Buildings/Housing/Parks

Mafia Cop

New York City detectives Stephen Caracappa and Louis Eppolito were accused in 2005 of also working for the Luchese crime family. They were quickly dubbed "Mafia cops" and were convicted…

Magic Number

A "magic number" is the combination of team wins and a contending team's losses that will clinch a playoff spot or title. A "tragic number" is the opposite -- a combination…

Magic Valley (Lower Rio Grande Valley nickname)

The Lower Rio Grande Valley area of Texas has been called "Magic Valley" since at least 1916. Irrigation of the valley began just before 1900; the results caused promoters to call it a…

Magnet School

The first "magnet school" was in Philadelphia in the 1960s, not New York. A "magnet" school specializes in something (science or performing arts or business, for example) to…

Magnolia City (Houston nickname)

"Magnolia City" is one of the earliest of Houston's many nicknames, dating from the 1870s. Wikipedia: HoustonHouston is the largest city in the state of Texas and the fourth-largest…

MaHi (Marble Hill)

"MaHi" is "Marble Hill." You already know, of course, that "Washington Height and Inwood" is "WaHI." At the "WaHI" web site, "MaHi" has…

Mahjong (Mah Jongg)

Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: MahjongMahjong, also spelled majiang, mah jongg, and numerous other variants, is a game that originated in China. It is commonly played by four players (with…

Mail-Order Cowboy

A "mail-order cowboy" was a person newly arrived to the west, dressed as if from a mail-order cowboy catalogue. Other names for the "mail-order cowboy" include

Main Stem (Broadway)

Broadway has also been known as the "Main Stem." The term (used mostly in the 1920s and 1930s) is now historical. A "Main Stemmer" (or "mainstemmer") was another term…

Main Stem Femme (a Broadway girl)

Syndicated newspaper columnist Walter Winchell (1897-1972) introduced the term "main stem femme" in Life magazine on June 4, 1928, in an article titled "Along the Main Stem."…