Sea Gulls of the Sink (roaches); Rats with Wings (pigeons)
"Sea gulls of the sink" = cockroaches."Rats with wings" = pigeons. These are two colorful New York terms. The first ("sea gulls of the sink") has really just been used…
Seafood
"Sea food" is a common term today, but it wasn't used in the 1700s. "Sea food," if used at that time, had the meaning of the food that sailors ate aboard ship, such as salt…
Seafood Delight (seafood platter)
"Seafood Delight" is a combination dish of various fish and shellfish. "Seafood Delight" was printed in the Orlando (FL) Sentinel on June 13, 1954. A recipe for "Seafood…
Seafood Diet (“Whenever I see food, I eat it”—Tommy Lasorda?)
"I'm on a seafood diet. Whenever I see food I eat it." Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers player and manager Tommy Lasorda has used this quip -- a play on the words "seafood" and…
Seafood Platter
Entry in progress. Penniless lexicographer taking a break. -- B.P. Christie's Seafood & Steaks (Houston, TX)Mr. Theodore Christie was born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1885. He arrived to this…
Seagan (sea + vegan)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Urban DictionarySeaganA modified vegan who also eats seafood. Distinguished from a pescetarian in that they do not eat eggs or dairy.Yo...do we have any vegans coming to…
Seagull Manager (Seagull Management)
Ken Blanchard, author of The One Minute Manager (1982) and other books, said in 1984: "A British friend of mine calls it the seagull-type of management. The big guy flies in, dumps on…
Sears, Sawbuck & Co. (Sears, Roebuck and Company nickname)
The department store chain Sears, Roebuck and Company, founded in 1893, has had several nicknames. "Rears, Sawbuck & Co." was printed in the Jamestown (ND) Weekly Alert on May 11,…
Seastead (sea + homestead); Seasteading
"Seasteading" (sea + homesteading) consists of establishing a permanent home (or "seastead") on the sea, outside of a nation's territory. The idea has appealed to…
Second “Big Apple” explanation: December 1, 1926
Above, the header from the 1924 newspaper column of John J. Fitz Gerald. Click to see a portion of the column which includes his use of "Big Apple." Part of a 1926 column is also…
Second Acting
"Second acting" (or "second-acting") a Broadway show is to wait for intermission, go in the theater with the crowd, sit in an empty seat and see the second act for free. A…
Second Avenue Subway Cough (Second Avenue Subway Syndrome)
The "Second Avenue Subway cough" (also called "Second Avenue Subway Syndrome") is a health problem associated with the construction of Manhattan's Second Avenue Subway. The…
Second City of the World
The nickname "Second City of the World" (or "Second City in the World") was popularized with the 1898 consolidation of Manhattan, Brooklyn and other areas into Greater New York.…
Second Line; Second Liner; Second Lining
The "second line" -- especially in New Orleans and in other places as well -- follows the regular band at parades and funerals, and follows the tune by clapping along, dancing or playing…
Secret Circus (Secret Service nickname)
The United States Secret Service has a U.S. Treasury function and is also responsible for protecting national leaders and their families. In April 2012, in advance of President Obama's…
Secret Santa
Entry in proress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Secret SantaSecret Santa is a Western Christmas tradition in which members of a group or community are randomly assigned a person to whom they anonymously give a…
Secretary of Death (Secretary of Defense nickname)
The U.S. Secretary of Defense has infrequently been called the "Secretary of Death." "Ladd decided that the best way to reference the United States' Secretary of Defense was to…
Securitocracy (security + -ocracy)
A "securitocracy" (security + -ocracy) is a government where security runs the state; government officials are "securitocrats." The term "securitocracy" has been cited…
Security Mom
The name "security mom" was first used by Delaware Senator Joe Biden, cited in print since a least January 28, 2003. Biden had said that since the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in…
Security Theater
"Security theater" is a term that was first used in Bruce Schneier's book Beyond Fear (2003). Schneier wrote, "But some countermeasures provide the feeling of security instead…