Nickel Empire (Coney Island)
Coney Island, the entertainment resort located in Brooklyn, was dubbed the "Nickel Empire" in the 1930s and 1940s for several reasons. New York City's subway (of which Coney Island…
Buildings/Housing/Parks
Nickel Series (Nickel World Series)
When the New York Yankees play the New York Giants, or the Brooklyn Dodgers, or now the New York Mets in a baseball World Series, it's called a "Subway Series." The first three…
Nickel-and-Dime
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wiktionary: nickel and dimeAlternative forms. nickel-and-dimeEtymologyFrom the names of two US coins of small value.Adjectivenickel and dime1. (US, idiomatic, colloquial)…
Nickelodious (Nickelodeon nickname)
Nickelodeon is an American cable television network containing programming for children and adolescents. In 2008 and 2009, a channel running Nickelodeon's cartoons from the 1990s was called…
Nicotini (nicotine + martini)
Many restaurants and bars throughout the world have banned smoking to eliminate second-hand smoke. Some enterprising individuals decided to try to put nicotine directly into the food and drinks.…
Nifty
Entry in progress -- B.P. "Nifty" is used in the financial terms "Nifty Fifty" and "Nifty Nine." "Nifty" is said in Wikipedia to mean "National Index…
Nifty Fifty
"Nifty Fifty" was a term popular in early 1970s to represent fifty growth stocks, with high price-to-earnings ratios, that drove the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The "Nifty…
Nifty Nine
The name "Nifty Fifty" referred to 50 popular large-cap stocks on the New York Stock Exchange in the 1960s and 1970s that were regarded as the major movers of the Dow Jones Industrial…
Niggerati or Niggeratti (nigger + literati)
"Niggerati" or "niggeratti" (nigger + literati) is a term of the Harlem Renaissance to describe Harlem's writers, artists and musicians. The term was popularized by…
Niggeratti Manor (267 West 136th Street)
"Niggerati" or "niggeratti" (nigger + literati) is a term of the Harlem Renaissance to describe Harlem's writers, artists and musicians. The term was popularized by…
Night Mayor
A "night mayor" is a person who oversees nightlife concerns within a city. Unlike the position of mayor, a "night mayor" is usually appointed (by the mayor) and not elected. The…
Night-soil Man (Night-soil Collector; Night Soiler)
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)night-soil collector n.1853 Hull Packet & E. Riding Times 10 June 8/2 The night-soil collectors..had taken a piece of ground on the opposite…
NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard)
"NIMBY" (Not In My Back Yard) has been cited in print since at least 1978, and went viral in 1980. The "NIMBY" term has been said to have been coined by Walton Rodger of Nuclear…
Ninth Avenue International Food Festival
The Ninth Avenue International Food Festival has been held each May since 1974, from about 37th to 57th Streets. The festival reflects the international character of this avenue in Manhattan. In my…
Ninth Wonder of the World (Louisiana Superdome)
The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans was completed in 1975 and was dubbed the "Ninth Wonder of the World." There are the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the Astrodome in…
NIRP (Negative Interest Rate Policy)
"NIRP" (Negative Interest Rate Policy) has been cited in print since at least May 2008 and December 2008, but began appearing with frequency in the financial press in 2012. A central bank…
NIT (National Invitation Tournament)
Madison Square Garden plays host to college basketball's National Invitation Tournament (N.I.T.). It used to be the tops in college basketball, but that was before the NCAA college basketball…
Nitery
Entry in progress -- B.P. Historical Dictionary of American Slangnitery n. Journ. a nightclub. Now colloq. or S.E.1934 Weseen Dict. Amer. Slang 147: Nitery -- A night club.1936 Esquire (Sept.) 159:…
No Action Talk Only (North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO nickname)
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was formed in 1949 by member states in North America and Europe for collective defense (against what at that time was the Soviet Union). The…
No Actual Science Allowed (NASA nickname)
Entry in progress -- BP Other NASA nicknames include "National Academy of Space Actors," "Never A Straight Answer" and "Not A Space Agency." Wikipedia: NASAThe…