Steak Row (East 45th Street)
"Steak Row" used to be East 45th Street, from Lexington to First Avenue. The defunct Pen and Pencil Restaurant helped to give it that name. However, it is not correct to say that…
1930s: Jazzing the Big Apple
Steak Soup
Entry in progress -- B.P. Midwest LivingMidwest Soups State by StateBy Diana McMillen. Photographs by Mark ThomasMissouri: Kansas City Steak SoupThe Show Me State stockyards once helped deliver…
Steakery (steak + eatery)
A "steakery" is an "eatery" that serves "steak." The term "steakery" dates to at least 1932. The franchise Charley's Grilled Subs was originally called…
Steakhouse Index
A "steakhouse index" gauges the health of an economy by the health of its steakhouses. If an economy is doing well, businesses entertain clients at steakhouses; if an economy is doing…
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics)
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) -- often given as "STEM fields" or "STEM education" -- is a popular acronym for a scientific area of specialization.…
Stemwinder
A "stemwinder" is a rousing speech. "Stemwinder" has also meant a keyless watch and geared logging locomotive. The "stemwinder" speech has been cited in print since at…
Step Into The Real Texas (Amarillo motto)
"Step Into The Real Texas" is the motto of the city of Amarillo, promoted by the Amarillo Convention and Visitor Council since 1990. Amarillo likes to promote its cowboy image, and two…
Stepford Media
The book The Stepford Wives (1972) by Ira Levin was made into films in 1975 and 2004. The housewives in the novel's idyllic Connecticut neighborhood of Stepford were replaced by…
Stephan Weiss Apple Awards (2011-2018)
Stephan Weiss, a New York artist, married fashion designer Donna Karan in 1983; he died in 2001 at age 62. Karan used Weiss's plans and completed a bronze sculpture called "The…
Sterngating (stern + tailgating)
"Sterngating" (stern + tailgating) is when a tailgate picnic is held from a boat instead of a car, van, or pickup truck. The tradition appears to have started at the University of…
Sternie (Howard Stern fan; NYU Stern School of Business or Yeshiva University Stern College student)
"Sternie" can mean several things in New York City. First, a "Sternie" can be a fan of radio "shock jock" Howard Stern. Stern was born in the New York City area and…
Steuben Day Parade
The Steuben Day Parade in September celebrates German Americans, in honor of the Revolutionary War hero. General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben had been honored by New York State and had been the…
Stexit (Staten Island + exit)
"Grexit" (Greece/Greek + exit) spawned many similar terms. "Stexit" (Staten Island + exit) is a name for a possible exit of Staten Island from New York City. "Staten Island…
STFR (Sell The Fucking Rip; Sell The Fucking Rally)
"STFR" stands for "Sell The Fucking Rip" or "Sell The Fucking Rally." According to this theory, if the price of an asset rises, then one should sell. " I was…
Stick Ball
The New York City game. Here's "stick ball" and "stickball." 3 September 1922, New York Times, pg. E1:Games of tag, prisoner's base, relay racing, leapfrog races,…
Sticker Shock
The term "sticker shock" began in 1980, when consumers found that new cars were costing over the $10,000 on their stickers (rather than about half that in the mid-1970s). "Fiat Stops…
Still Not Laughing (Saturday Night Live or SNL backronym)
Saturday Night Live (SNL) has broadcast live from New York City on NBC television on Saturday nights since October 11, 1975. Not everyone thinks that SNL's sketch comedy is funny. SNL has been…
Stinger (steak + chicken finger); Stinger Fries; Stinger Pizza; Stinger Taco
A "Stinger" sandwich is a hoagie or sub sandwich that contains chicken fingers and steak (like a Philly cheesesteak). It also often has lettuce, tomatoes, onions and hot sauce. The book…
Stink Progress or StinkProgress (Think Progress nickname)
Think Progress is a blog from the progressive think tank, Center for American Progress. Critics of Think Progress have dubbed it "Stink Progress" (or "StinkProgress") since at…
Stinkadena (Pasadena nickname)
The city of Pasadena (near Houston, from a Chippewa Indian word meaning "Crown of the Valley") was a small, strawberry-growing community until the 1920s, when petrochemical plants began…