Don’t block the box!
"Don't block the box!" was a 1980s campaign to end gridlock in New York City. Drivers were reminded that "blocking the box" (an intersection, usually with white lines…
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“Lock ‘em up”/“Hellview of Bellevue” (1961); “For You” (1973)
Jazz great Charles Mingus (1922-1979) recorded "Hellview of Bellevue" (also titled, "Lock 'em up") in 1960. He was actually locked up there. In 1973's album Greetings…
Little Apple (Roosevelt Island)
When "the Big Apple" caught on in a big way in the 1970s, Roosevelt Island joined the bandwagon, too. T-shirts proudly declared "Roosevelt Island - the Little Apple." Wikipedia…
New York Kiss & New York Kiss-Off
A "New York Kiss" is a punch. A "New York Kiss-Off" is a rude dismissal. Both date from the mid-19th or early 20th century and are not used today. Ask for a hug instead.…
Brooklyn Fade or Brooklyn Blowout (haircut)
The "Brooklyn Fade" or "Brooklyn Blowout" haircut (a regional name for the familiar "fade" haircut) appears to have been popularized in the early 1990s. It's also…
Brooklyn Clothesline
"Brooklyn clothesline" was perhaps coined by astronaut Neil Armstrong in 1969. There's a video of the thing in one of the web citations below. "To the moon, Alice!" as…
“New York: For the Time of Your Life” (2005)
NYC & Co. (the city's tourist bureau) commissioned Frank Wildhorn (of several low-grade Broadway musicals, such as Jekyll and Hyde and Dracula: The Musical) to write a song to promote…
Tar Beach (rooftop)
"Tar Beach" is the rooftop (often composed of tar) where one can sit and get a tan, as if on the beach. The term "tar beach" has been cited in print since at least 1941. New…
Seven O’Clockers
"Seven o'clockers" were those people (about 200) who lived in Philadelphia and wrote the 7 a.m. Reading Railroad train to Penn Station in New York. Then, at 5 p.m., they'd take…
Pedlock (pedestrian + gridlock)
Pedlock = pedestrian + gridlock. The term "pedlock" followed "gridlock" in the 1980s, but really didn't catch on until the 2000s. 19 May 1986, Newsday (Long Island, NY),…
Skelly (or skelsy, skellzies, scully, tops, caps)
"Skelly" is an old New York City game. There is a good entry for it in the Dictionary of American Regional English, but there are earlier citations to be found. It is said that the game…
Typhoid Mary
"Typhoid Mary" is one of the few persons of any sort to have an entry in the Oxford English Dictionary. She has been the subject of several books and a PBS Nova documentary investigation.…
Big Apple Fest (2005)
UPDATE: The second Big Apple Fest was announced for 2005, but it never took place. The following was written in early 2005. The Big Apple Fest is continuing for 2005. The Big Apple Fest website has…
One PP or Puzzle Palace (One Police Plaza)
One Police Plaza (near the Brooklyn Bridge) is the main police headquarters. It is sometimes called "puzzle palace," a nickname originally used for the Pentagon building in Washington,…
B-Boy or B-Girl (Bronx Boy/Girl or Break Boy/Girl)
"B-Boy" or "B-Girl" (also "Bronx boy/girl" or "break boy/girl") are breakdancing terms from the 1980s Bronx. They are still used today. (Oxford English…
EMS (“Every Minute Sucks”)
EMS is the Emergency Medical Services. Nicknames include "Every Minute Sucks" and "Earn Money Sleeping." http://www.faqs.org/faqs/tv/nypd-blue/EMS Emergency Medical Services,…
Track Pizza
"Track pizza" is another name for a subway suicide, where someone throws himself or herself in front of a moving train. A bloody red mess results ("pizza"). Not sold by the…
“On the 6” (1999) & “Jenny from the Block” (2002)
On September 1, 1850, Jenny Lind, the "Swedish Nightingale," arrived in New York on the strength of her big hit, "Jenny from the Block." Nah, wrong Jenny. Just kidding! Bronx…
Bronx Indian or Brooklyn Indian
A "Bronx Indian" or a "Brooklyn Indian" was a term for a Jew. The terms are not complimentary and are not used anymore. They were most frequently used in the 1940s during World…
Rubbermen or Red Menace
"Rubbermen" or "Red Menace" are cop terms (especially television's NYPD Blue) for members of the fire department. http://www.faqs.org/faqs/tv/nypd-blue/Red Menace…