“You’re fired!” (Donald Trump)
"You're fired!" is that trademark phrase of Donald Trump, the New York City real estate mogul and businessman. The phrase was used on the television show The Apprentice and became…
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“Asthma Alley”
"Asthma Alley" was probably coined by Jerome Kretchmer, an environmental protection administrator, in 1970. Parts of the south Bronx, western Queens, and Harlem have all been called an…
MetroStars/Red Bulls (professional soccer team)
The MetroStars were formed after the 1994 World Cup revived interest in soccer. The team was sometimes called the "New York-New Jersey MetroStars." In March 2006, the team was renamed the…
Manhattan Truffle (Tartufo)
"Manhattan Truffle" has appeared on the dessert menus of a few restaurants. It sure looks and sounds like a "tartufo" to me. Why is this dessert called "Manhattan…
Knicks (NBA basketball team)
The New York professional basketball team is called the Knickerbockers, or Knicks. "Knickerbocker" was formally adopted in the summer of 1946, but "Knicks" was quickly applied…
“Now Anything’s Possible” & “The Place to Be” (Time Warner Cable)
I subscribed to Time Warner's "Road Runner" broadband service. The company's recorded phone messages told me that Time Warner was "The Place to Be." I took home the…
Freedom Tower (or, Pataki’s Pit)
"Freedom Tower" was coined by New York Governor George Pataki in April 2003. It's the building that is planned to replace the World Trade Center towers, destroyed on September 11,…
Giants (National League baseball team, now in San Francisco)
The "Giants" nickname has been much disputed through the years. It has been claimed that it was coined by manager Jim Mutrie (1851-1938). A date of June 3, 1885 is often given. Certainly,…
(Trolley) Dodgers (National League baseball team, now in Los Angeles)
The "Trolley Dodgers" was the 1890s nickname of the Brooklyn Bridegrooms baseball team. Later, the "Bridegrooms" team was officially nicknamed the "Trolley Dodgers,"…
Giants (NFL football team)
The New York Giants currently play football in Giants Stadium in the Meadowlands - in New Jersey. The club began in 1925. The name "Giants" has long been used by New York's National…
Jets (NFL football team)
The "Jets" (an NFL football team) began in the American Football League (a rival to the National Football League, but the leagues later merged) as the "Titans." The team was…
Mets (National League baseball team)
The 1962-present National League "Mets" share the same name as a baseball team from the 1880s. It's a shortened form of "Metropolitan."…
Liberty (WNBA women’s basketball team)
The New York Liberty played its first season in the WNBA (Women's National Basketball Association) in 1997. The Statue of Liberty is on the team's logo, so the nickname's meaning is…
April 1st & the Bronx Zoo (Telephone Hoax)
It's April 1st. You see a note on your desk to call a Mr. Lyon. Or Mr. Wolf. Or Mr. Katz. Don't do it! It's not known if this telephone hoax began in New York, but it certainly may…
Checker Cab
The "Checker" cab is gone from the streets of New York. But it was New York. It was big, roomy, with checkered stripes on the sides. Go rent the movie Taxi Driver right now. Or you could…
Metronome
"Metronome" is that hideous thing of smoke and numbers and a needle on the Virgin Megastore building on Union Square South. It was installed in 1999 and perhaps we should give it time,…
St. John the Unfinished (St. John the Divine)
The Cathedral church of St. John the Divine on Morningside Heights (110th Street and Amsterdam Avenue) was started in the 1890s and is still not finished. It's been called St. John('s)…
Curse of the Bambino
The Boston Red Sox won the 2004 baseball World Series. Apparently, this curse does not exist. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curse_of_the_BambinoThe Curse of the Bambino was an urban myth or…
Our Lady of New York
"Our Lady of New York" is the statue in an altar at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. Unless you're referring to the Botero. 14 April 1942, New York Times, pg.…
Little Ireland (New York City nickname)
Little Ireland? That's not a neighborhood -- that's New York City! "'Little Ireland,' sometimes known as the city of New-York" was cited in print in 1891. The Bronx…