A Texas “longhorn speech” has been defined as one with two points far apart and a lot of bull in between. Dr. E. C. Barker, an American history professor at the University of Texas, might have coined the term in 1939.
8 December 1939, The Daily Texan (Austin, TX), “History Study Makes Optimist, Barker Says,” pg. 3, col. 1:
Studying history “makes one a long-time optimist,” Dr. E. C. Barker, professor of American history, said to members of Phi Beta Kappa Wednesday night at the banquet following the initiation of thirty-seven new members.
(...)
Tall, gray-haired Dr. Barker characterized his address as a “Longhorn speech — two little points with a lot of bull in between.”
Google Books
The State and Public Education: Inaugural Address of Homer P. Rainey as President
Austin: University of Texas Press
1940
Pg. 224:
...I know of no better way for him to do so than for him to deliver what he told me the other day he considered to be the typical longhorn speech, being “one with two very small points, widely separated, with a lot of bull in between.” Dr. Rainey.
28 March 1943, Port Arthur (TX) News, pg. 4, col. 5:
And then
There was the
Definition of a
“Texas longhorn speech:
Two small points
And a lotta bull
In between.”
8 June 1946, Dallas Morning News, section I, pg. 2:
Dr. Rainey, who spoke almost an hour, warned at the beginning that he had been accused of being long-winded. He explained what was meant by a longhorn speech—a small point at each end “with a lot of bull in between.”
19 October 1948, Raleigh Register (Buckley, WV), pg. 4, col. 2:
“It’s a longhorn speech,” he said, adding, “you know what Texas longhorn cattle look like.”
Bill defined a “longhorn speech” as one “with two points far apart with a lot of bull between.”
8 May 1962, Corpus Christi (TX) Times, pg. 10, col. 7:
This is the description by Sen. John G. Tower, R-Texas, of a “Texas Longhorn” speech:
“Two points far apart and a lot of bull in between.”
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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