Broadway (slang for flashy dresser, loud talker)
The Sporting News Record Book (1937) included this piece of baseball slang: "Broadway -- A flashy dresser, loud talker." "Broadway" is the name of a main thoroughfare in many…
Broadwayite
A "Broadwayite" is someone who works on Broadway or who goes to Broadway shows. The term "Broadwayite" has been cited in print since at least 1863, but New York City's…
Bukharan Broadway or Bukharian Broadway (108th Street in Rego Park, Queens)
Queens -- specifically Rego Park and Forest Hills -- is home to many Bukharan Jews from Central Asia, the result of emigration since the 1970s. Rego Park is sometimes given a "-stan"…
Bulb Belt (Broadway)
Broadway's bright lights gave it the nickname "Bulb Belt." "No-bulb belt" (Off-Broadway) was cited in print in 1928. Broadway columnist Walter Winchell (1897-1972) used…
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…
Buzzard Boulevard (Broadway)
"Back to Broadway, otherwise known as Buzzard Boulevard," Broadway columnist Mark Hellinger (1903-1947) wrote in 1933. Hellinger meant that Broadway was full of buzzards -- human vultures…
Cat Alley (Cannon Street)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Google BooksReport of the Council of Hygiene and Public Health of the Citizens Association of Nrw York Upon the Sanitary Condition of the CityNew York, NY: D, Appleton and…
Chancy Street (Chauncey Street, Brooklyn)
Chauncey Street, in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, is a high crime area. It was reported, in July 2011, that Chauncey Street is nicknamed "Chancy Street." Google…
Chorine Court (West 47th Street, between Broadway and Sixth Avenue)
O. O. McIntyre (1884-1938) wrote the syndicated newspaper column "New York Day By Day." On June 12, 1924, he wrote about "Chorine Court," a block on West 47th Street between…
Chow Mein Stem (Broadway; Mott Street)
Broadway has been called "the Main Stem" since at least the early 1900s. The Broadway nickname of "Chow Mein Stem" (chow mein + main stem) reflects a time when chow mein…
Chow Mein Street (Broadway)
Chinese restaurants serving chow mein used to crowd Broadway around Times Square. "Chow-Mein Street" (a street where Chinese people live) was cited in the New York City humor magazine…
Club Row (West 27th Street)
West 27th Street in Chelsea has become known as "club row" became of its many night spots. Page SixROCK AROUND THE BLOCK[ (9 clubs + 7,000 people) x 5 nights ] - 1 block = West 27th…
Club Row (West 44th Street)
Manhattan's West 44th Street has many clubs, such as the Cornell Club (6 East 44th), the Harvard Club (27 West 44th), the Penn Club (30 West 44th), the New York Yacht Club (37 West 44th), the…
Compact of Fifth Avenue (Pact of Fifth Avenue)
Richard Nixon (1913-1994), just before his appearance at the Republican National Convention at Chicago in July 1960, was called over to the Central Park East (Fifth Avenue) 14th floor apartment of…
Convict Alley (Lexington Avenue, between 119th and 126th streets)
The area of East Harlem on Lexington Avenue, between 119th Street and 126th Street, has been called "Convict Alley." The New York (NY) Daily News, in the story "Convict alley in…
Counterfeit Alley (Canal Street & Midtown Manhattan)
"Counterfeit Alley" is the name of any place that sells counterfeit (fake) goods. Yes, that $5 "Gucci" bag or $5 "Rolex" watch can probably be found there. Some of the…
Counterfeit Triangle (Canal Street area)
The "Counterfeit Triangle" area of Manhattan that sells counterfeit merchandise is bounded by Canal, Walker, Baxter and Centre Streets. The name "Counterfeit Alley" had been…
Cross-Roads of the World
Times Square became known as the "Cross-Roads of the World" by about 1923-1924. The nickname had been used before for European cities (London, Paris, Rome) or the Near East. It was soon…
Dead Line
The "deadline" started as a Civil War term, then became the police line at Fulton Street, and then became the police line at Fourteenth Street. The newspaper use of "deadline"…
Dead Man’s Curve
"Dead Man's Curve" is more popularly known today as a song by Jan and Dean, but it was the corner of 14th Street and Broadway. Some find it irony that a statue of Gandhi now stands…