“If I tell you a hen dips snuff, you can look under its wing”
"If I tell you a hen dips snuff, you can look under its wing (and you'll find a whole can)" is an expression that means the speaker is telling the truth, and it can be checked out.…
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“A lick and a promise”
"A lick and a promise" refers to a cursory washing or cleaning ("lick"), with a "promise" to do a more thorough job later. The phrase "a lick and a promise"…
“Money, Marbles and Chalk” (“Money, Marbles or Chalk”)
"Money, marbles and chalk" (or "money, marbles or chalk") means "going for everything." Similar phrases might be "all the marbles" and "the whole kit…
Gimlet (cocktail)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Gimlet (cocktail) The gimlet is a cocktail typically made of gin or vodka and lime juice. A 1928 description of the drink was: "gin, a spot of lime, and…
“Elections have consequences”
"Actions have consequences" is an ancient truism, very obvious and not attributed to any particular speaker. "Ideas have consequences" is the title of a 1948 book by philosopher…
Sport Pepper
Entry in progress -- B.P. Vienna BeefVienna® Sport PeppersReal Chicago Style Dogs Always Pack A Little Heat.Emil Reichel and Sam Ladany knew what they were doing when they made sport peppers one…
World Capital of Capital (World Capital of Capitalism)
New York City is sometimes called "Capital of the World" because it's home to the United Nations. This unofficial title is seldom written as "the world's capital" or…
“Spend like drunken sailors” (“Spend like a drunken sailor”)
"Spend money like drunken sailors" (or "spend money like a drunken sailor") means to have few fiscal constraints, or to spend money freely. In the 1700s and 1800s, sailors were…
“That’s the way the cookie crumbles”
"That's the way the cookie crumbles" (also "that's how the cookie crumbles") means that even a good thing (a cookie) sometimes breaks apart. A similar expression…
“Hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk”
"It's so hot," runs the expression, "that you can fry an egg on the sidewalk!" New York City has plenty of sidewalks. Is it ever possible to fry an egg on one? A…
Birch Beer
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Birch beerBirch beer is a carbonated soft drink made from herbal extracts, usually from birch bark. It has a taste similar to root beer, with a slightly minty…
Grandma Pizza (Grandma Slice)
Entry in progress -- B.P. A "grandpa pizza"/"grandpa slice" is sometimes sold, but there are no standard ingredients for this. Wikipedia: PizzaNew York-style pizza is a style…
Lady Baltimore Cake (Lord Baltimore Cake)
The Lady Baltimore cake was popularized by the Owen Wister (1860-1938) novel Lady Baltimore (1906). Wister's novel took place in fictional Kingsport, a substitute name for Charleston, South…
Marble Cake
Marble cake (cake with light and dark swirls) has unknown origins. It's first cited in print in an Illinois newspaper of 1859; in 1863, it was mentioned at the Illlinois State Fair, by a woman…
Half-and-Half Pizza
A "half-and-half" pizza (also sometimes called a "split" pie) is a pizza with different toppings on each half. For example, one half could have a pepperoni topping and the other…
Sicilian Pizza
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Sicilian pizzaSicilian pizza, also known as Sfincione (or Sfinciuni in Sicilian language) is a variety of pizza with ingredients sometimes incorporated into the…
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…
Root Beer
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Root beerRoot beer, also known as sarsaparilla, is a carbonated beverage (or possibly a type of beer) originally created from sassafras. Root beer, popularized…
Mother Merrill (Merrill Lynch nickname)
The Merrill Lynch brokerage firm was affectionately called "Mother Merrill" by its employees. "Mother" Merrill Lynch trained its brokers and treated them well, frowning on any…
Alexander/Gin Alexander/Brandy Alexander/Coffee Alexander (cocktail)
New York columnist Walter Winchell explained the origin of the Alexander cocktail in his column on March 21, 1929. Rector's (a famous New York eatery before Prohibition) was having a dinner…