Bungler-in-Chief (an incompetent top executive)
"Bungler-in-chief" (or "bungler in chief") means any incompetent top executive. The term "bungler-in-chief" has been cited in print in 1917, 1967 and 1987, but the…
Bunnette
The Nathan's July 4th Hot Dog Eating Contest is famous for its "gurgitators" (eaters), but it also has "bunnettes." A "bunnette" (from the hot dog…
Bureau of Incompetent Asses (Bureau of Indian Affairs or BIA nickname)
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior responsible for the administation and management of Native American land in the United States. Critics of the…
Bureau of Land Mismanagement (Bureau of Land Management or BLM nickname)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees more than 247.3 million acres (1,001,000 km2) of public lands in the United States. Critics of the Bureau of Land Management have nicknamed it the…
Bureau of Large Mistakes (Bureau of Land Management or BLM nickname)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees more than 247.3 million acres (1,001,000 km2) of public lands in the United States. Critics of the Bureau of Land Management have nicknamed it the…
Bureau of Lies and Statistics (Bureau of Labor Statistics or BLS nickname)
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was established as the Bureau of Labor in 1884. Some of the statistics that it compiles include the consumer price index and unemployment rates. Critics of…
Bureau of Livestock and Mining (Bureau of Land Management or BLM nickname)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees more than 247.3 million acres (1,001,000 km2) of public lands in the United States. Some critics have said that the bureau sells out to livestock and…
Bureau of Wrecklamation (Bureau of Reclamation nickname)
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of Reclamation (formerly the U.S. Reclamation Service) has been in charge of water management (including many dam projects) since 1902. Critics…
Bureaucratese or Bureaucrapese (bureaucratic language)
"Bureaucratese" is a language spoken or written by bureaucrats, also often called "officialese" or "legalese" or "federalese" or "governmentese."…
Bureaucrazy (bureaucracy + crazy)
"Bureaucrazy" (bureaucracy + crazy) has been used when people feel that government red tape is overwhelming, creating a bureaucracy-crazy environment. The word "bureaucrazy" has…
Bureaustan (bureau + -stan)
"Bureaustan” (bureau + -stan, such as Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) means a location that is run by an all-powerful bureau.…
Bureauweenie (bureaucrat + weenie)
A "bureauweenie" (bureaucrat + weenie) is an unflattering name for a bureaucrat, with "weenie" meaning someone who is weak and unimportant. The term is usually given in plural…
Burger (from “hamburger”)
"Burger" is a shortened form of "hamburger." Ben Zimmer of the Oxford English Dictionary found the following early citations from Penn State. Penn State Collegian22 July 1926,…
Burger King Kids
An executive at JPMorgan Chase & Company dubbed some of his young new hires "Burger King kids" (after the fast food restaurant), according to the New York (NY) Times of October 13,…
Burma Road (Asian restaurants on 52nd Street, between 6th and 7th Avenues)
Syndicated newspaper columnist Walter Winchell (1897-1972) wrote in a column in September 1948: "There are so many chow mein places on 52nd Street between 6th and 7th now -- the…
Burn the British (toasted English muffin)
"Burn the British!" is old restaurant slang for an order of a toasted English muffin. The slang was recorded in New York Panorama: A Comprehensive View of the Metropolis, Presented in a…
Burnham’s Folly (Flatiron Building)
"Burnham's Folly" is frequently said to be an early nickname of Manhattan's Flatiron Building at 175 Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street, completed in 1902. The Flatiron Building was…
Bus Station of Airports (LaGuardia Airport nickname)
New York City's LaGuardia Airport reminds many people of a bus station (an unflattering comparison). LaGuardia has often been called the "Bus Station of Airports." "Laguardia…
Busboy or Bus Boy (“busing” tables)
The "busboy" (also "bus-boy" and "bus boy") does many tasks at a restaurant, such as cleaning dirty dishes off the table, setting the table, filling diners' water…
Bushwickan (inhabitant of Bushwick, Brooklyn)
"Bushwickan” is the name of an inhabitant of Bushwick, in the borough of Brooklyn. The name “Bushwickan” has been cited in print since at least 2009. "Bushwickan" is…