New York City

Rotten Row (West Broadway)

West Broadway (known as Laurens Street in the 1800s) was called "Rotten Row" since at least 1840. It was a place of dilapidated houses, crime and prostitution. Wikipedia: West…

Round Rocker (inhabitant of Round Rock)

Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Round Rock, TexasRound Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos…

Roundagon (Hilton Austin Airport nickname)

"Roundagon" is the nickname of a round building at the Bergstrom Air Force Base, built in the late 1960s. "Roundagon" is a borrowing from Washington's "Pentagon"…

Rubber Band Effect

The "rubber band effect" (or "V rally," describing how it looks on a chart) describes the stock market as like a rubber band, ready to bounce back from any large losses or…

Rubber Chicken

The 1940s term "rubber chicken circuit" described the poor food at banquets, but when an actual rubber chicken was made and sold by novelty stores is not exactly known. Loftus…

Rubber Chicken Circuit

The "rubber chicken circuit" is the lecture circuit, where banquets are held that serve frequently unappetizing food. "The rubber chicken at hotel banquets" was cited in print…

Rubber Room

A "rubber room" originally meant a room walled with rubber (where an insane person couldn't hurt himself). This meaning dates to at least the 1930s. New York Times columnist William…

Rubbermen or Red Menace

"Rubbermen" or "Red Menace" are cop terms (especially television's NYPD Blue) for members of the fire department. http://www.faqs.org/faqs/tv/nypd-blue/Red Menace…

Rubberneck Row

"Rubberneck Row" was Forty-Fourth Street. Tourist buses used to visit that street around about 1900. Visitor would at attractions from one side of the street to the other. Their necks…