Big Burg
"Big Burg" is a nickname for New York City (and other big cities) that was popular in the early 1900s, before the "Big Apple" 1920s citations. (Oxford English Dictionary)burg,…
Big Cave
Willie Morris (1934-1999) was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and became editor of Harper's magazine in 1967. An article in the June 1967 Harper's was titled "A provincial in New York:…
Big Cheese
"Big cheese" was a popular slang term in the 1900s, almost two decades before the "Big Apple" became popular in the 1920s. "Big cheese" is cited in print from at least…
Big Dance (NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship)
The "Big Dance" (also called "March Madness") is the NCAA Division I basketball tournament. The NCAA has trademarked "Big Dance" since 2002, but "big dance"…
Big Glou (natural wine fair)
"Glou glou" is French for "glug glug." A "glou glou wine" is a wine that can be consumer easily in large quantities. "Mussollini's favorite wine glou glou…
Big Harma (Big Pharma + harm)
"Big Pharma" is a term used to refer collectively to the global pharmaceutical industry. "Big Harma" (Big Pharma + harm) is a term used by those who believe that Big Pharma…
Big Man On Campus (BMOC)
A "big man on (the) campus" (BMOC) is a male student who is highly popular. He could be a star athlete, a star student, a wealthy celebrity, a class president or popular in other ways.…
Big Onion
In 1991, "Big Onion" Walking Tours started in New York City. I keep thinking they have the wrong city. Chicago is often called the "big onion" because some people think…
Big Oyster
Many oysters were grown and eaten in the New York City area in the 19th century. By the 20th century, through pollution and other causes, the oyster catching industry began to die out. New York…
Big Pharma
"Big Pharma" is a term used to refer collectively to the global pharmaceutical industry. "Big pharma" was cited in the San Francisco (CA) Examiner on June 29, 1993, and on April…
Big Pharmafia (Big Pharma + mafia)
"Big Pharma" is a term used to refer collectively to the global pharmaceutical industry. "Big Pharmafia" (Big Pharma + mafia) is a term used by those who believe that Big Pharma…
Big Red Apple (sculpture in Cornelia, Georgia, 1926-present)
Several regions of North America have been billed as a "Land of the Big (Red) Apple." Cornelia, Georgia has an apple monument that reads: "HOMEOF THEBIG…
Big Red with the Long Green Stem (Seventh Avenue/Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard)
"Big Red with the Long Green Stem" was Seventh Avenue (now Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard) in Harlem, between roughly 130th and 150th Streets. The term combined several slang terms:…
Big Road Apple (Big Apple + road apple)
"Big Road Apple" (Big Apple + road apple) is an unflattering nickname for New York City. "Road apple" is a term derived from the horse manure that used to be found on roads in…
Big Rue (Broadway)
Broadway in Manhattan has long been known for its theatrical entertainments, In 1926, it was sometimes called the "Big Rue" -- where a French word is substituted for "Big…
Big Sandy (Belmont Park nickname)
"Big Sandy" is the nickname of the racetrack at Belmont Park, perhaps a reflection of the old 1920s "Big Apple" name for the New York racetracks and the "Big A"…
Big Six
"Big Six" was the name of the Americus fire truck used by Boss William Tweed and his Tammany Hall gang. Later, "Big Six" was the nickname of the great New York Giants baseball…
Big Six (Albany, Buffalo, New York, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers)
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…
Big Stem (Broadway)
"Big Stem" is a nickname of Broadway, in Manhattan's theater district. It's a combination of "main stem" and "big" (as in "Big Apple," "big…
Big Street (Broadway)
The "Big Street" is a nickname for the Broadway theater district in New York City, also called the "Great White Way." Sheppard "Shep" Friedman (1875-1921), an editor…