Queensite (inhabitant of Queens)
People from the borough of Queens usually refer to themselves as from their particular neighborhood, such as Forest Hills, Kew Gardens or Flushing. "Queensite" has been cited in print…
1930s: Jazzing the Big Apple
Quesadiarrhea (quesadilla + diarrhea; “case of diarrhea”)
Quesadiarrhea (quesadilla + diarrhea; "case of diarrhea") is not a food served at Taco Bell restaurants, but there are jokes. "Better than a quesadiarrhea" was posted on Twitter…
Quesadilla
Quesadillas are an important part of Tex-Mex cuisine. A quesadilla is a turnover with filling, such as beans, cheese, rice, and beef or chicken. The Gebhardt Chili Powder Company of San Antonio has…
Quesadilla on Steroids (mulita)
LA Weekly (CA) food critic Janathan Gold described (in a 1999 column) a mulita at La Taquiza as being "a sort of quesadilla on steroids." A mulita consists of two corn tortillas…
Quesapita or Quesa-Pita (quesadilla + pita)
A "quesapita" (or "quesa-pita") is a quesadilla served using pita bread instead of a tortilla. The restaurant chains The Pita Pit and Mr. Pita both offer quesapitas.…
Quesarito (quesadilla + burrito)
A "quesarito" (quesadilla + burrito) is a cheese quesadilla wrap with burrito fillings. Taco Bell had filed for a trademark for "quesarito" in 1986, but the trademark protection…
Queso Fries
"Queso Fries" are a specialty of the Texicalli Grille in Austin, Texas. Several other restaurants throughout the country offer "queso fries," and it's not known if the…
Quiche (Quiche Lorraine)
"Quiche" is probably related to the German word "kuchen," or cake. A quiche is made of eggs and milk or cream, baked in a pastry crust. A Quiche Lorraine (named from the…
Quick Lunch; Beef and—, Sinkers
"Quick lunch" was a term popular in the late 1800s. Was the "quick lunch counter" invented by Patrick Dolan, at 3 Park Row? A Souvenir of New York's Liquor InterestsNew…
Quinceañera (Quince Años)
Many Spanish-speaking people mark a girl's fifteenth birthday with a celebration. The name "Quince Años" (fifteen years) was applied to this celebration in the 1950s and 1960s; by…
Quinnipiac (“Q-poll”) & Marist polls
Quinnipiac University (Hamden, Connecticut) is famous for its "Q-Poll" of local politics and issues. The polling started about 1990. Marist College (Poughkeepsie, New York) began its…
Quisqueya Heights (Washington Heights)
Washington Heights (in upper Manhattan) has so many residents from the Dominican Republic that it is often called "Quisqueya Heights." "Quisqueya" is an informal nickname of the…
Quooklyn (Queens + Brooklyn)
Ligaya Mishan wrote in the New York (NY) Times on June 12, 2014: "You are 10 stops out of Manhattan on the L line, in the borderland where Bushwick, Brooklyn, blurs into Ridgewood, Queens.…
Raaaaacism or Raaaaacist (“There are five A’s in ‘raaaaacism’”)
"Racism!" and "Racist! are politically charged terms, often used after other factual arguments fail. The political right has often charged that the political left uses the "race…
Rabbi Hole (rabbi + rabbit hole)
"Rabbi hole" (rabbi + rabbit hole) is a term that went viral after secret tunnels were discovered at the World Headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, a synagogue located at 770…
Rabbit Town (Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village)
The first building of Manhattan's Stuyvesant Town-Peter Cooper Village residential complex opened in 1947. The buildings became so attractive to new families that the development was nicknamed…
Rabbits (dollars, or any fiat currency that can be printed in large amounts)
The first Belarusian ruble had a European hare on the currency, giving it the nickname of "rabbits." In July 2012, Simon Black of the Sovereign Man blog wrote a post from Ukraine titled…
Racer (race + -er)
The term "racer" (race + -er) follows such terms as "truther," "tenther" and "birther." Radio host Tony Katz coined "racer" in April 2011 to…
Racquet Club (cocktail)
Entry in progress -- B.P. 21 May 1893, Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer, pg. 17, col. 2:THE MANHATTAN.The Greatest of American Democratic Clubs.The Manhattan club at Fifth avenue and Thirty-fourth…
Radio (tuna fish sandwich)
A tuna fish sandwich (or a tuna salad sandwich) on toast is called a "radio" (or "radio down") in diner slang. "Tuna" was taken for "tune it," and "tuna…