Entry from
January 29, 2005
Knife & Fork, Bottle & Cork Spell “New York”
This rhyme goes back to probably at least the 1910a. Doug Wilson, of the American Dialect Society list, found the 1915 citation below.
21 Dec. 1915, Syracuse (NY) Herald, p. 7, col. 2:
FREAK LETTER REACHES
DESTINATION QUICKLY
Buffalo Postoffice Clerk Solves Puz-
zle of Strangely Addressed
Missive.
(...)
The address side of the envelope bore in the center a picture of a buffalo. Underneath were the pictures of a knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork. The latter is part of a saying - "A knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork spells New York.["] The local clerk interpreted this part right when he guessed that the letter was meant for some [sic] in Buffalo, N. Y.
Folk-Lore from Maryland
collected by Annie Weston Whitney and Caroline Canfield Bullock
New York:
Published by the American Folk-Lore Society
G. E. Stechert and Co., New York, Agents
1925
Pg. 139:
Knife and fork,
Bottle and cork,
That's the way
To spell New York.
A Treasury of American Folklore
edited by B. A. Botkin
New York: Crown Publishers
1944
Pg. 768:
Knife and fork!
Bottle and cork!
That's the way to
Spell New York!
June 1947, Hoosier Folklore, vol. VI, no. 2, pg. 7:
A bottle and a cork,
A jug and a fork,
And that's the way to spell New York.
A Rocket in My Pocket: The Rhymes and Chants of Young Americans
compiled by Carl Withers
illustrated by Susanne Suba
New York: Henry Holt
1948
Pg. 101:
A knife and a fork
A bottle and a cork
That's the way
To spell NEW YORK.
Knife and Fork in New York:
Where to eat, what to order
by Lawton Mackall
New York: R. M. McBride
1948
21 Dec. 1915, Syracuse (NY) Herald, p. 7, col. 2:
FREAK LETTER REACHES
DESTINATION QUICKLY
Buffalo Postoffice Clerk Solves Puz-
zle of Strangely Addressed
Missive.
(...)
The address side of the envelope bore in the center a picture of a buffalo. Underneath were the pictures of a knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork. The latter is part of a saying - "A knife, a fork, a bottle and a cork spells New York.["] The local clerk interpreted this part right when he guessed that the letter was meant for some [sic] in Buffalo, N. Y.
Folk-Lore from Maryland
collected by Annie Weston Whitney and Caroline Canfield Bullock
New York:
Published by the American Folk-Lore Society
G. E. Stechert and Co., New York, Agents
1925
Pg. 139:
Knife and fork,
Bottle and cork,
That's the way
To spell New York.
A Treasury of American Folklore
edited by B. A. Botkin
New York: Crown Publishers
1944
Pg. 768:
Knife and fork!
Bottle and cork!
That's the way to
Spell New York!
June 1947, Hoosier Folklore, vol. VI, no. 2, pg. 7:
A bottle and a cork,
A jug and a fork,
And that's the way to spell New York.
A Rocket in My Pocket: The Rhymes and Chants of Young Americans
compiled by Carl Withers
illustrated by Susanne Suba
New York: Henry Holt
1948
Pg. 101:
A knife and a fork
A bottle and a cork
That's the way
To spell NEW YORK.
Knife and Fork in New York:
Where to eat, what to order
by Lawton Mackall
New York: R. M. McBride
1948
The Wizard (Jeff Mills) dance-mix learics
fm 98 WJLB Detroit…
“A knife and a fork
a bottle and a cork
that’s the way to spell New York”
1988-1991
Posted by on 06/11 at 03:49 AM
Page 1 of 1 pages