Subway Acrobat
A "subway acrobat" is someone who performs gymnastic moves on the subway, often using the subway's poles (or straps). The show is done for free, but the performer usually asks for…
Buildings/Housing/Parks
Subway Alumni
"Subway alumni" are supporters of a college team who have never gone to that college. Notre Dame had powerful football teams in the early 1900s, and the Fighting Irish often played games…
Subway Series (Subway 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…
Subway Shmutz (Schmutz) Survey
The Straphangers Campaign of the New York Public Interest Research Group issues an annual "Subway Shmutz" (Yiddish for "dirt," and also spelled "schmutz") survey.…
Subway Super Bowl
The New York Giants (representing the National Football Conference) have never played the New York Jets (representing the American Football Conference) in the Super Bowl. An all-New York…
Subway Warts
What are subway warts? A 2004 blog post named the large bumps on the yellow strips in the subway (that warn people not to come too close to the edge of the platform) as "subway warts." In…
Successful Fire (Jewish Lightning)
On June 5, 2000, NYU librarian George Thompson submitted this, on "successful fires" and "Jewish lightning," to the American Dialect Society list. I'll try to update it…
Such A Bad Experience, Never Again (Sabena backronymic nickname)
Sabena stood for Societé Anonyme Belge d'Exploitation de la Navigation Aérienne and was the national airline of Belgium from 1923 to 2001. Sabena had one of aviation's oldest and…
Sucker Rally (Sucker’s Rally)
A "sucker rally" (or "sucker's rally") is a brief rally that is not sustained. It is similar to the "dead cat bounce," where a stock has fallen so far that, like…
Suckretary (suck + secretary)
"Suckretary" (suck + secretary) is a derogatory term that originally described a female secretary working under a male boss. However, "suckretary" has also been used to deride…
Sucks Children’s Happiness Out Of Life (“school” backronym)
"Sucks Children's Happiness Out Of Life" is a jocular backronym (back acronym) of the word "school." "S.C.H.O.O.L= Sucks Children's Happiness Out of Life"…
Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS)
"Sudden Adult Death Syndrome” (SAD or SADS, similar to SIDS for infants) is when an adult dies suddenly and unexpectedly. The term is usually used to hint at the probable cause of…
Sudden Athlete Death Syndrome (SADS)
"Sudden Athlete Death Syndrome” (SAD or SADS, similar to SIDS for infants) is when an athlete (active or recently retired) dies suddenly and unexpectedly. Athletes are thought to be young…
Sudden Fried Chicken (sudden + Southern fried chicken)
A fried chicken riddle is: Q: What do you get when lightning strikes the chicken coop?A: Sudden fried chicken. "Sudden friend chicken" can sound like "Southern fried chicken."…
Sudden Invented Death Syndrome (SIDS)
"Sudden Invented Death Syndrome” (SIDS, the same acronym as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is when an adult dies suddenly and unexpectedly. This term is usually used to hint at the probable…
Sudden Invented Syndrome Syndrome (SISS)
"Sudden Invented Death Syndrome” (SIDS, the same acronym as Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) is when an adult dies suddenly and unexpectedly. This term is usually used to hint at the probable…
Suddenlyitis
"Suddenlyitis" is when someone dies suddenly and unexpectedly, such as a young person thought to be in good health. The term is usually used to hint at the probable cause of death -- the…
Sugar Daddy
In 1923, Dorothy Keenan King (a New York model) was found chloroformed to death in her New York City apartment. She had called John Kearsley Mitchell her "heavy sugar daddy." It is…
Sugar Hill
Most people know this from the "Sugar Hill Gang." "Sugar Hill" is the African-American area around Harlem where life is sweet. Wikipedia: Sugar Hill, ManhattanSugar Hill is a…
Sugar Honey Iced Tea (“shit” backronym)
"Sugar honey ice(d) tea" is a backronym (back acronym) of the word "shit." The "sugar honey ice tea" euphemism appears to have been cited in print since at least the…