New York City

Job Lock (Joblock)

"Job lock" (also written as "job-lock" and "joblock") is the condition where someone is locked into a job that he or she might otherwise want to leave. One reason for…

Jobsolete (job + obsolete)

"Jobsolete" (job + obsolete) describes a job, worker or company that is obsolete. "Workers should be able to use technology to their advantage, without fearing that it will make them…

Jock Tax

A player for the New York Yankees who lives in New York CIty, for example, pays New York taxes. However, when the Yankees visit Chicago to play the White Sox, that player might be liable for…

Jockularity (jock + jocularity)

"Jockularity" (jock + jocularity) is humor involving sports jocks (athletes). "Or to create a new word, they did not accept their stereotyped role (the dumb athlete -- ed.) with…

Joe College

"Joe College" is a college boy. The term was first used to a college-age boy who devotes much time to extra curricular activities; later use of "Joe College" has placed less…

Joe Doakes

"Joe Doakes" is a name for an anonymous person, like "John Doe" or "John Q. Citizen." "Joe Doakes" supposedly is a circus name that originated with P. T.…

Joe Frogger (cookie)

"Joe Froggers" are molasses cookies that are a specialty of Marblehead, Massachusetts. According to the legend, a Revolutionary War patriot named Joseph Brown (called "Uncle…

Joe O’Malley (Irish coffee)

"Joe O'Malley" is sometimes given as the lunch counter slang for "Irish coffee." However, Irish coffee became popular in the late 1940s and 1950s -- at the tail end of the…

Joe Sixpack (Jane Sixpack)

"Joe Sixpack" (also "Joe Six-pack" or "Joe Six Pack") is a name for the average Joe -- someone who works hard and enjoys a six-pack of beer. According to William…

Johnny Pump

A "Johnny Pump" is a fire hydrant. It's a name that I don't hear much anymore. I found it first in the following novel, which is full of "classic" New York speech.…