Shyster
Gerald Cohen is a professor at the University of Missouri-Rolla and the editor of Comments on Etymology. Before his 1991 Big Apple monograph, Cohen published these two in the 1980s: Origin of the…
Holidays/Events/Parades
Siberia (second-class restaurant seating)
Siberia is known as a cold, inhospitable place in Russia; political prisoners were sent to work camps in Siberia and never heard from again. "Siberia," in slang, is any such similar…
Sichuan Fire (pun on “set you on fire”)
Sichuan/Szechuan/Szechwan cuisine can be spicy. "Szechuan" can sound like "set you on." Many restaurants and restaurant dishes/sauces have been named…
Sicilian Pizza
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Sicilian pizzaSicilian pizza, also known as Sfincione (or Sfinciuni in Sicilian language) is a variety of pizza with ingredients sometimes incorporated into the…
Sick Man of Asia
The "Sick Man of Europe" originally described the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Wikipedia: Sick man of AsiaThe phrase "sick man of Asia" or "sick man of East Asia"…
Sick Man of Europe
The "Sick Man of Asia" originally described China. Wikipedia: Sick man of Europe"Sick man of Europe" is a label given to a European country experiencing a time of economic…
Sidewalk Superintendent
"Sidewalk superintendent" was John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s idea. During the Depression, many unemployed workers sat at the construction sites, watched, and commented…
Siegel-Cooper’s Statue of the Republic (Minnie Clark, model)
The Statue of the Republic, by sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) was the largest and most symbolic of the Chicago Columbian Exposition (World's Fair) of 1893, Irish-born Minnie Clark,…
Signing Statement
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Signing statementA signing statement is a written pronouncement issued by the President of the United States upon the signing of a bill into law. They are…
Sikh Day Parade
The Sikh Day Parade began in the 1980s. It's quickly becoming a popular New York City ethnic parade. More Sikh immigrants have perhaps located in Queens than any other borough.…
Silent Dining
The restaurant Eat, in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, began "silent dining" in September 2013. Patrons were required to eat in silence. The term "silent dining" had been cited earlier,…
Silent Service (United States Postal Inspection Service or USPIS nickname)
The United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) remains little-known, even though it claims an origin back to 1772 and colonial Postmaster General Benjamin Franklin. The USPIS investigates all…
Silicon Alley
"Silicon Alley" was always a name more than a place. It was meant to imitate California's Silicon Valley nickname. Mark Stahlman claims that he coined it and that he had Broadway in…
Silicon Bayou (New Orleans nickname)
New Orleans, in a borrowing from Silicon Valley, has been called a "Silicon Bayou" or (less frequently) "Silicon Swamp." "Embracing the name 'Silicon Bayou,' the…
Silicon Forest
Oregon has a "Silicon Forest" of high-tech companies located near Portland, between Beaverton and Hillsboro. Lattice Semiconductor Corporation trademarked "Silicon Forest" with…
Silicon Hills (Austin nickname)
The city of Austin is sometimes called "Silicon Hills." The name is a take-off on "Silicon Valley" (California) and "Silicon Prairie" (Dallas-Fort Worth) of the late…
Silicon Prairie
Texas has many high tech industries. The nickname "Silicon Prairie" (a take-off of California's "Silicon Valley") dates from 1979, and it was much imitated by other cities…
Silicon Swamp (New Orleans nickname)
New Orleans, in a borrowing from Silicon Valley, has been called a "Silicon Bayou" or (less frequently) "Silicon Swamp." "'Silicon swamp' forming" by Jane…
Silicone City (Houston nickname)
"Silicone City" is a nickname for Houston that first appeared in a lengthy story in the August 1995 Texas Monthly. The silicone breast implant was invented in Houston in 1962 by doctors…
Silk Stocking District
I live in the "Silk Stocking District" on the upper east side of Manhattan. The term is an old one, meaning wealthy people who dress expensively. 8 September 1895, New York Times, pg.…