Frozen Zone
A "frozen zone" is a high security area that is off limits ("frozen") to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. A "frozen zone" can be declared after a disaster (such as…
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Bottom Dollar (“Bet your bottom dollar”)
"Bottom dollar" means one's very last dollar. To "bet your bottom dollar" means to bet even one's last dollar, such as the bottom dollar in a stack of dollars at a…
Top Dollar
To get "top dollar" on a used car or other item is to get the best price (the most money) for it -- a dollar amount that can't be topped. The term "top dollar" has been…
Lager Beer
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: LagerLager (German: storage) is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager…
Austin (summary)
The city of Austin was named after Stephen F. Austin (1793-1836), known as the "Father of Texas." A small village on the Colorado river was originally called Waterloo; it was selected as…
Houston (summary)
The city of Houston was founded by the brothers Augustus Chapman Allen (1806-1864) and John Kirby Allen (1810-1838). The "Town of Houston" was advertised in the August 30, 1836 Telegraph…
Little Ghana (Mount Hope, Bronx)
"Little Ghana" is a nickname for the Mount Hope (in Tremont) section of the Bronx. The nickname was popularly used in the media in June 2010, when the African nation of Ghana defeated the…
Little Albania
"Little Albania" is a name sometimes applied to the Belmont section of the Bronx (also known as "Little Italy"). This "Little Albania" has been cited in print since at…
“You don’t win friends with salad”
"You don't win friends with salad!" is what Homer Simpson and family danced in a conga line before vegetarian daughter Lisa on the animated television show The Simpsons ("Lisa…
Republinut (Republican + nut)
"Republinut" (Republican + nuts) is a term used by those who believe that Republicans are crazy (or "nuts"). "Republinuts" has been cited in print since at least 1996…
Great Divergence
The economist Paul Krugman wrote in the first post of his New York (NY) Times blog, The Conscience of a Liberal, on September 18, 2007: "The great divergence: Since the late 1970s the America…
Great Compression
The term "Great Compression" was coined by Claudia Dale Goldin and Robert A. Margo in their book, The Great Compression: The wage structure in the United States at mid-century (1991). The…
Great Contraction
The "Great Contraction" is the period from 1929-1933 that is also called the "Great Depression." Economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006) popularized -- but did not coin -- the…
Trashuries (trash + Treasuries)
A United States Treasury security (the securities are usually called "Treasuries") is a debt financing instrument backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. The…
Operation Twist (Operation Nudge)
The Federal Reserve's "Operation Nudge" (cited in print from April 9, 1961) was renamed "Operation Twist" (cited in print from August 20, 1963), after a song and dance…
Hamburger with everything; Hot Dog with everything; Pizza with everything
A food with "everything" means with lots of additions piled onto it. This post is based on the work of Ben Zimmer and his September 20, 2011 Language Log article, "Shel Silverstein…
Fatal Drugs Allowed (Food and Drug Administration or FDA nickname)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is part of the Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for food safety, drug safety and other issues. The unflattering FDA nickname…
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,…
JPig (JPMorgan Chase nickname)
"JPig" or "JPIG" is an unflattering nickname for the banking firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. The bank is partly named after financier John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913).…
Teatanic (tea party + Titanic)
"Teatanic" or "TEAtanic" (tea party + Titanic) is a term used by those who believe that the tea party's politics is a disaster (like the sinking of the RMS Titanic). The…