Big Apple
n.— «So many people have asked the writer about the derivation of his phrase, “the big apple,” that he is forced to make another explanation. New Orleans has called it to his mind again. A number of years back, when racing a few horses at the Fair Grounds with Jake Byer, he was watching a couple of stable hands cool out a pair of “hots” in a circle outside the stable. A boy from an adjoining barn called over. “Where you shipping after the meeting?” To this one of the lads replied, “Why we ain’t no bull-ring stable, we’s goin’ to ‘the big apple.’” The reply was bright and snappy. “Boy, I don’t know what you’re goin’ to that apple with those hides for. All you’ll get is the rind.”» —“In the Paddock” by John J. Fitz Gerald Morning Telegraph (New York City) Dec. 1, 1926. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Sure, there’s winter, spring, summer, and fall. But the seasons in between have even more poetic names. In Alaska, greenup describes a sudden, dramatic burst of green after a long, dark winter. And there are many, many terms for a cold snap...
Melissa in Charlotte, North Carolina, remembers her grandfather would describe something excellent as better than snuff, but not near as dusty. The snuff in this case refers to finely ground smokeless tobacco. It arose at a time when snuff was...
