Big O (Omaha, Nebraska nickname)
Omaha, Nebraska is sometimes called the 'Big O." Basketball superstar Oscar Robertson (an NBA player from 1960 to 1974) popularized "The Big O" nickname for himself. New York…
Education/Schools
Big Olive (Thebes, Greece nickname)
The 1997 Disney animated movie Hercules called ancient Thebes, Greece, by the nickname "the Big Olive." A character said: "One town, a million troubles. The one and only Thebes. The…
Big Onion
In 1991, "Big Onion" Walking Tours started in New York City. I keep thinking they have the wrong city. Chicago is often called the "big onion" because some people think…
Big Orange (California and Orange County-NY nickname)
In the 1970s, just as "the Big Apple" became popular for New York, "the Big Orange" was sometimes used for Los Angeles or the state of California. "Big Orange" was…
Big Orange (Tel Aviv, Israel nickname)
Tel Aviv (Israel's commercial center) is often compared to New York City. Jaffa (now part of Tel Aviv) has long been famous for the Jaffa orange. Tel Aviv has called itself "the Big…
Big Oyster
Many oysters were grown and eaten in the New York City area in the 19th century. By the 20th century, through pollution and other causes, the oyster catching industry began to die out. New York…
Big Peach
"The Big Peach" became somewhat popular as an Atlanta nickname after "the Big Apple" became popular in the 1970s. 2 August 1979, New York Times, pg. B16:WALL STREET LEAVE THE…
Big Persimmon (summary)
Tokyo is very seldom called "the Big Persimmon," but some have used the term. There is a blog called "The Big Persimmon" (http://little-wings.com/wordpress/).…
Big Pharma
"Big Pharma" is a term used to refer collectively to the global pharmaceutical industry. "Big pharma" was cited in the San Francisco (CA) Examiner on June 29, 1993, and on April…
Big Pharmafia (Big Pharma + mafia)
"Big Pharma" is a term used to refer collectively to the global pharmaceutical industry. "Big Pharmafia" (Big Pharma + mafia) is a term used by those who believe that Big Pharma…
Big Pineapple (Australian icon)
Australia has "the Big Pineapple." It also has a "Big Banana" and a "Big Prawn" and a "Big Merino." It's a big country. "The Big Pineapple" is…
Big Pineapple (Honolulu, Hawaii nickname)
Honolulu, Hawaii, is sometimes called the "Big Pineapple" because of Hawaii's role in the pineapple-growing industry. The "Big Pineapple" nickname followed the 1970s…
Big Pineapple (San José, Costa Rica nickname)
San José, Costa Rica is sometimes called "the Big Pineapple." I was there and never heard this, but it's in some tourist literature so it's gotta be true. Wikipedia: San José,…
Big Plum (“New York may be the Big Apple, but Cleveland’s a Plum”)
"New York may be the Big Apple, but Cleveland's a Plum" (occasionally, "The Big Plum") was meant to answer Cleveland's fiscal crisis in the 1970s, just as "the…
Big Potato (Boise, Idaho nickname)
Both Boise (the city) and Idaho (the state) have been called "the Big Potato." It's not a formal nickname, but it's another natural extension of the "Big Apple"…
Big Potato (jocular mistake for “Big Apple”)
New York City is called the "Big Apple," not the "Big Potato." However, Betty White, playing the character Rose Nylund on the television sitcom The Golden Girls, the "Sick…
Big Raisin (summary)
"Big Raisin" was somewhat popular in 1977 (during the 1970s "Big Apple" revival) as a nickname for Fresno, California. Fresno grows a lot of raisins.…
Big Red Apple (sculpture in Cornelia, Georgia, 1926-present)
Several regions of North America have been billed as a "Land of the Big (Red) Apple." Cornelia, Georgia has an apple monument that reads: "HOMEOF THEBIG…
Big Red with the Long Green Stem (Seventh Avenue/Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard)
"Big Red with the Long Green Stem" was Seventh Avenue (now Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard) in Harlem, between roughly 130th and 150th Streets. The term combined several slang terms:…
Big Road Apple (Big Apple + road apple)
"Big Road Apple" (Big Apple + road apple) is an unflattering nickname for New York City. "Road apple" is a term derived from the horse manure that used to be found on roads in…