Al Pastor (Cabrito Al Pastor; Carne Al Pastor; Tacos Al Pastor)
"Al pastor" means "shepherd style," a term originating in northern Mexico. "Al pastor" is meat carved from a vertical spit, often seaoned with pineapple, onions,…
New York City
Al-CIAda (Al-Qaeda + CIA)
Al-Qaeda (Arabic for "The Base") is a Sunni Islamic terrorist group founded in 1988-1989 by Osama bin Laden -- with the help of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) -- to fight the…
Al-Reuters or Al Reutzeera (Reuters nickname)
Reuters is an international news agency heaquartered in London. Some Reuters critics have claimed that the news organization has an anti-Western and pro-Muslim bias. This criticism intensified in…
Alabama: Lizard (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Google BooksApril 1845, Cincinnati Miscellany (Cincinnati, OH), pg. 240, col. 1:Alabama, Lizards. Chronicling America23 August 1845, Ripley (MS) Advertiser, pg. 1, cols.…
Alabama: Yellowhammer State (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. OCLC WorldCat recordAlabama : the yellowhammer stateAuthor: Marathon Oil Company.; Rand McNally and Company.; Rand McNally Collection (Newberry Library)Publisher:…
Alain Locke and Harlem Renaissance as the “Big Apple” (1920s; suggested in 1988)
Alain Leroy Locke (1885-1954) was the first African-American Rhodes Scholar and a professor of philosophy at Howard University in Washington, D.C. He guest edited Survey Graphic in March 1925 for a…
Alambres (Mexican Shish Kebab)
Alambres (Spanish for "wires" or "skewers") is a dish that's sometimes called "Mexican Shish Kebab." It's served in fancier Tex-Mex restaurants. Iguana Grill…
Alamo (black cube at Astor Place)
"Alamo" is the name of the big black cube at Astor Place, opposite Cooper Union, in the middle of a traffic island. During a brief repair and cleaning in 2005, and everyone said,…
Alamo Bowl
The annual Alamo Bowl is a football bowl played between representatives of the Big 12 and Big Ten conferences. The first Alamo Bowl was played in 1993, and it takes place in the Alamodome in San…
Alamo Burger
Many restaurants offer something called an "Alamo Burger." Often, it's simply a hamburger with chili and cheddar cheese. (This "Alamo Burger" can be found at The Sports…
Alamo City (San Antonio nickname)
The Alamo is the popular national landmark in San Antonio. San Antonio itself was called "the Alamo City" by the mid-1800s. In the 1880s, "Alamo City" showed up in book titles.…
Alaska: The Last Frontier (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. (Oxford English Dictionary)last frontier n. (a) orig. and chiefly U.S. that part of a country, region, etc., which is the last to be settled, explored, or developed; spec.…
Albany, Buffalo, New York, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers: Big Six (nickname)
The term "Big Six" has historical significance in New York. Since at least the 1950s, New York State's six largest cities have been called "Big Six." "With little…
Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Utica, Yonkers: Big Six (nickname)
The term "Big Six" has historical significance in New York. Since at least the 1950s, New York State's six largest cities have been called "Big Six." "With little…
Albany: “What is the Easter bunny’s favorite state capital?”/“Albunny, New York.”
An Easter bunny riddle is: Q: What is the Easter bunny's favorite state capital?A: Albunny, New York! The Albany joke has been cited in print since at least 2005. Wikipedia: Albany, New…
Albany: Albany Beef
"Albany beef" is a jocular name for sturgeon, once plentiful in the Hudson River in the 1700s. "This fish is a favorite with the Dutch, at Albany, and is on that account by some…
Albany: Politicana (nickname)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Albany, New YorkAlbany (Listeni/ˈɔːlbəniː/) is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New…
Albany: Smallbany or Smalbany or SmAlbany (nickname)
New York City is the most populous city in New York State, but Albany is the capital city. Some New Yorkers (including some from Albany) have called the capital city "Smallbany" or…
Albany: Steamed Hams (hamburgers)
The term "steamed hams" ("hamburgers," in the supposed regional dialect of Albany, New York) was coined on the American animated sitcom The Simpsons, on the episode "22…
Albany: Sturgeondom (nickname)
Sturgeon in the Hudson River were so numerous that they were called "Albany beef" since at least the 1770s. The city of Albany itself was called "Sturgeondom" or…