Big Apples Are Top of the Barrel
The big apples, the best fruit, are "top of the barrel." This was well known by the late 19th century. It was speculated that farmers often placed the best apples on top of the barrel to…
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Ragtime
E. L. Doctorow's 1975 novel Ragtime is set in New Rochelle and in New York City. It is not known for certain that "rag time" can be claimed for New York City. However, when the…
Silicon Alley
"Silicon Alley" was always a name more than a place. It was meant to imitate California's Silicon Valley nickname. Mark Stahlman claims that he coined it and that he had Broadway in…
Test of a Champion (Belmont Stakes)
The Belmont Stakes (the final leg of the Triple Crown in horseracing) is called the "Test of the Champion" or the "Test of a Champion." The term "Test of the Champion"…
World’s Most Famous Arena (Madison Square Garden nickname)
Madison Square Garden is "The World's Most Famous Arena." Another, older nickname for Madison Square Garden (originally used in previous Madison Square Garden buildings, such as the…
Big Time and Big Town
"Big Time" and "Big Town" are important parts or precursors of the "Big Apple" nickname. The New York Morning Telegraph was a sports and entertainment newspaper, and…
Variety
The show business newspaper Variety began in New York City in 1905. However, the word "variety" (show business meaning) also comes from New York City. I've been trying to verify the…
Apples and Horses
Horses love apples. This was universally known in the early parts of this century, but it appears to be universally unknown today. I have to constantly explain horses and apples to almost everyone…
New York System 〈Providence, RI “hot dogs”〉
"New York System" is the name for a kind of hot dog sold in Providence, Rhode Island. PROVIDENCE (RI) CITY DIRECTORY 1931 Pg. 575, col. 2: Coney Island Hot Weiners (Theodore Kanelos)…
Blackout Cake
The "Blackout Cake" is the famed product of Brooklyn's Ebinger's Bakery, which began in 1898 and closed its doors in 1972. It's not clear when this was called…
Negimaki or Negimayaki
Japanese food is booming here and this is one of the early New York City classics--or is it? According to John Mariani's Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink (1979): "The word is from…
Lobster Newberg (Lobster Newburg; Lobster Newburgh)
"Lobster Newberg' (also spelled "Lobster Newburg" or "Lobster Newburgh") was invented at Delmonico's restaurant in New York City in the late 1800s. The name…
Who Owns New York?
"Who Owns New York" is a Columbia University fight song, and it goes like this: Oh, who owns New York?Oh, who owns New York?Oh, who owns New York the people say.Why, we own New York!Yes,…
Clams Casino
John Mariani's Encyclopedia of American Food and Drink (1999) states: "A dish of clams mixed with butter, paprika, and shallots, then baked with small strips of bacon on top. The recipe…
N.Y.C.
The Oxford English Dictionary's March 2004 revision contains my 1869 entry as the earliest for the initials "N.Y.C." representing New York City. "N.Y." is far more common.;…
Alphabet City (East Village, Manhattan)
"Alphabet City" is the nickname of a neighborhood in the East Village of Manhattan, where Avenues A, B, C, and D can be found. The "Alphabet City," "Alphabetland" and…
Belgian Waffle
An issue of Saveur, June/July 2004, pp. 31-32, credits the 1964-65 New York World's Fair for the "Belgian Waffle." The Belgian waffle was mentioned in the United States slightly…
Broadway Blueshirts
The New York Rangers hockey team doesn't play on Broadway, but they do play in blue shirts. The Rangers were founded in 1925; the nickname "Broadway Blueshirts" appears in print by…
Pasta Primavera (Spaghetti Primavera)
"Pasta primavera" (or "spaghetti primavera") was invented at Le Cirque -- then located at 58 East 65th Street in Manhattan -- and is cited in print from 1976. The Le Cirque dish…
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded” (restaurant joke)
"Nobody goes there anymore -- it's too crowded" is supposedly New York Yankee baseball great Yogi Berra's statement about a popular restaurant. Yogi might have said it, but he…