Twenty-Three Skidoo (23rd Street myth)
One of the popular New York City myths is that the slang term "twenty-three skidoo" comes from the Flatiron Building at Twenty-Third Street and Broadway/Fifth Avenue. Tourist buses pass…
1920s: John J. Fitz Gerald and the N.Y. Morning Telegraph
Twerk (redneck for “to work”)
"Twerk" (the dance movement) sounds like how a Southerner would say "to work." A popular GIF is: REDNECK WORD OF THE DAY: TWERKIMA HAVE A FEW BEERS BEFORE I GET BACK TWERK…
Twice as Nice & Where Life Is So Large It Takes Two States (Texarkana slogans)
"Twice as nice" and "Where life is so large it takes two states" are slogans of Texarkana. The city is really two cities -- Texarkana, Texas (Bowie County) and Texarkana,…
Twidiocracy (Twitter + idiocracy)
"Twidiocracy" (Twitter + idiocracy) was coined by Matt Labash in The Weekly Standard on May 6, 2013, "The Twidiocracy: The decline of Western civilization, 140 characters at a…
Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul)
Two cities that are close neighbors are sometimes called "twin cities." ""Our line commences at the twin cities of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, the metropolis of Western…
Twindemic (twin + -demic)
The 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic< was feared to exist alongside a flu epidemic. The word "twindemic" (twin +epidemic/pandemic) was coined. "H1N1 & Covid-19=twindemic"…
Twinkies (Twin Donut’s donut holes)
Twin Donut has about 20 stores in the New York City area. The donut holes at Twin Donuts are called "Twinkies." "Twinkies" is also the name of the "Golden Sponge Cake with…
Twiplomacy (Twitter + diplomacy)
"Twiplomacy" (Twitter + diplomacy) is diplomacy using Twitter, an online social networking service. "I hereby invent 'Twiplomacy' =Twitter as public diplomacy tool"…
Twisted Tuesday
"Twisted Tuesday" is a drinking slang name for a day of the week. Alcoholic drinks are sold on this day, often at a reduced price. “Twisted Tuesday” has been cited in print since at…
Twitmo (Twitter + Gitmo)
"Twitmo" (Twitter + Gitmo) is a name for Twitter jail. People who Twitter concludes have violated its rules face account restrictions. "Gitmo" (the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base)…
Twitterette (user of Twitter)
Entry in progress -- BP Wikipedia: TwitterTwitter is an American microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages known as "tweets". Registered…
Two Bridges
"Two Bridges" is the area in Manhattan between the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhattan Bridge. Or, it could also mean the area in Manhattan between the Manhattan Bridge and the Williamsburg…
Two Cents Plain
"Two cents plain" in the lower east side of the 1920s and 1930s meant a glass of seltzer water. Harry Golden's 1959 New York memoir of this title helped to popularize the old term.…
Two Dow Shay (two show day)
"Two dow shay" is a spoonerism for "two show day." Two shows a day is a business day in the theater, and the joke is that it's so exhausting that even the term can't…
Two Face (chocolate and rainbow sprinkles)
Mister Softee ice cream trucks feature “Two Face”—a soft-serve vanilla ice cream cone with half chocolate sprinkles and half rainbow sprinkles. The term "two face" has been cited in…
Two Left Feet (clumsy at dancing)
A person who has "two left left" is clumsy and can't do various things, such as dance, play soccer, or march. The "two left feet" expression was popularized by…
Two New Yorks; Other New York; How the Other Half Lives
"Two New Yorks" or "Other New York" was the campaign theme of Bronx borough president Fernando Ferrer, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2001. It is also the theme for his…
Two-Napkin, Three-Napkin, Four-Napkin or Five-Napkin Burger
A one napkin/two napkin/three napkin/four napkin/five napkin burger is a hamburger so loaded with natural juices that it requires several napkins to eat it. "Two-napkin hamburger" has…
Two-Sewer Man (stickball term)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Newspapers.com26 April 1967, Daily News (New York, NY), "When You and I Were Young, Kiddo!" by Bill Gallo, pg. 38, col. 2:A TWO-SEWER MAN -- When you hit the…
Twofer
In the days just after World War II and before the Times Square TKTS. booth, sagging Broadway shows would offer "two-fers." These are two tickets for the price of one. 5 July 1947, New…