An Indianapolis listener is curious about a saying his dad used to describe anything that’s excellent or the best of its kind: Just like New York. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Just like New York” Hello, you have A Way with...
Why is New York City called the Big Apple? In the 1920s, a writer named John Fitz Gerald used it in a column about the horseracing scene, because racetrack workers in New Orleans would say that if a horse was successful down South, they’d send it to...
Why do spelling bees include such bizarre, obsolete words as cymotrichous? Why is New York called the Big Apple? Also, the stinky folk medicine tradition called an asifidity bag, the surprising number of common English phrases that come directly...
Big Apple n. New York City. Editorial Note: Although there are many claims about the origin of “The Big Apple” as a nickname for New York City, each of the others lacks crucial supporting evidence or is demonstrably false. Among historians...