“Ham” of the Bible is Noah’s son, and this fact eventually found it’s way into restaurant slang. “Noah’s boy” became an order of boiled ham. “Noah’s boy, with Murphy carrying a wreath Ham, potato, and cabbage” was cited in print in 1932.
Diner slang of this type became rare after 1960, and “Noah’s boy” is mostly of historical interest today.
Wikipedia: Ham (son of Noah)
Ham (Hebrew: חָם, Modern H̱am, Tiberian Ḥām; Greek Χαμ, Kham; Arabic: حام, Ḥām, “hot” or “burnt”), according to the Table of Nations in the Book of Genesis, was a son of Noah and the father of Cush, Mizraim, Phut and Canaan.
Google Books
World’s Work
Volume 61
February 1932
Pg. 29 (“Lunch-Wagon Slanguage”):
Noah’s boy, with Murphy carrying a wreath Ham, potato, and cabbage
Google Books
JSTOR
February 1936, American Speech, “Linguistic Concoctions of the Soda Jerker” by Harold W. Bentley, pg. 44:
NOAH’S BOY WITH MURPHY CARRYING A WREATH. Ham and potatoes with cabbage.
10,000 Snacks:
A Cookbook of Delicious Relishes, Hors D’oeuvres, Sandwiches, and Appetizers for All Occasions
By the Browns
Cora, Rose & Bob
Garden City, NY: Halcyon House
1948 (Copyright 1937)
Pg. 168:
“H. C.” OR “COMBO”
The ham and cheese sandwich, consisting of a slice of each, on rye or white, is such a familiar lunch wagon order that it has two pet names—“H. C.” from the initials, and “Combo,” an abbreviation of Combination Sandwich. In the same lively lingo of the short order, ham is “a slice of squeal,” ham sandwich, “a pig between sheets,” or “dress a pig,” ham sandwich with onion, “pig with a breath,” or just “Trilby.” Ham and eggs, “toast two on a slice of squeal,” ham, potatoes and cabbage, “Noah’s boy with Murphy carrying a wreath.” The Biblical name “Noah’s boy” for ham, suggests the classic “Adam and Eve on a raft and wreck ‘em,” for scrambled eggs on toast. And a ham sandwich to be wrapped up for eating off the premises is “dress a pig to take a walk.”
Google Books
Hash House Lingo:
The Slang of Soda Jerks, Short-Order Cooks, Bartenders, Waitresses, Carhops and Other Denizens of Yesterday’s Roadside
By Jack Smiley
Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, Inc.
2012 (Originally published in 1941)
Pg. 115:
Noah’s boy—boiled ham
Noah’s boy with Murphy carrying a wreath—Boiled ham and cabage with potatoes
Above, a 1934 plaque from the Big Apple Night Club at West 135th Street and Seventh Avenue in Harlem. Discarded as trash in 2006. Now a Popeyes fast food restaurant on Google Maps.
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Above, Big Apple Corner at 54th Street and Broadway in Manhattan. Google Maps. Stolen and missing, 2021-2024.
Above, John J. Fitz Gerald, from the Aug. 15, 1931, Binghamton (NY) Press, pg. 14.
Listen to Robert Emmerich introduce "The Big Apple," a hit song from 1937. Music written by Bob and performed by Tommy Dorsey's Clambake Seven with Bob on piano. Lyrics written by Buddy Bernier and sung by Edythe Wright. Audio provided by Dorothy Emmerich.
Also listen to a 1937 "The Big Apple" song by Ozzie Nelson and his Orchestra. See a 1929 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald and a 1931 photo of John J. Fitz Gerald.
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