Entry from
December 22, 2005
Main Stem
Broadway has also been known as the "Main Stem." The term (used mostly in the 1920s and 1930s) is now historical.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
main stem, n.
Chiefly N. Amer. colloq.
a. The main line of a railway.
b. The main course of a river.
c. The principal street of a town (now the usual sense); spec. Broadway, New York.
1832 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 1 804/2 The western fork..connects it with the main stem. 1854 Debow's Rev. July 19 The main stem, besides throwing off large boyous [sc. bayous], divides with the Northeast and Southeast Passes. 1869 Bradshaw's Railway Man. XXI. 426 Assets. Main Stem..Lebanon Branch extension..Richmond Branch. 1869 Debow's Rev. May 360 It [sc. the Illinois Central Railroad] has its main stem, and its branches of twelve hundred miles. 1900 'J. FLYNT' & 'F. WALTON' Powers that Prey x. 250 Investigations that have been begun in 'the main stem'. 1907 J. LONDON Road vii. 160 The kids began 'battering' the 'main-stem'. 1927 W. WINCHELL Primer Broadway Slang in Vanity Fair (N.Y.) 27 Nov. 134/4 Broadway is known as 'The Main Stem'.
6 March 1922, Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, WI), pg. 10:
So there is night life in New York yet. The old main stem of Broadway may seem to be making forced motions on the flaccid inspiration of strawberry soda when first observed by the visitor from west of the Jersey shore.
29 September 1926, Variety, pg. ?:
At first thought, this premise packs a punch but, as Joe Lee, the erudite Oriental philosopher, interprets it, "Broadway" will make the hicks expect the worst and their reaction upon being disappointed and finding themselves unmolested and treated civilly, will prove a boost for the Main Stem.
(Oxford English Dictionary)
main stem, n.
Chiefly N. Amer. colloq.
a. The main line of a railway.
b. The main course of a river.
c. The principal street of a town (now the usual sense); spec. Broadway, New York.
1832 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 1 804/2 The western fork..connects it with the main stem. 1854 Debow's Rev. July 19 The main stem, besides throwing off large boyous [sc. bayous], divides with the Northeast and Southeast Passes. 1869 Bradshaw's Railway Man. XXI. 426 Assets. Main Stem..Lebanon Branch extension..Richmond Branch. 1869 Debow's Rev. May 360 It [sc. the Illinois Central Railroad] has its main stem, and its branches of twelve hundred miles. 1900 'J. FLYNT' & 'F. WALTON' Powers that Prey x. 250 Investigations that have been begun in 'the main stem'. 1907 J. LONDON Road vii. 160 The kids began 'battering' the 'main-stem'. 1927 W. WINCHELL Primer Broadway Slang in Vanity Fair (N.Y.) 27 Nov. 134/4 Broadway is known as 'The Main Stem'.
6 March 1922, Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, WI), pg. 10:
So there is night life in New York yet. The old main stem of Broadway may seem to be making forced motions on the flaccid inspiration of strawberry soda when first observed by the visitor from west of the Jersey shore.
29 September 1926, Variety, pg. ?:
At first thought, this premise packs a punch but, as Joe Lee, the erudite Oriental philosopher, interprets it, "Broadway" will make the hicks expect the worst and their reaction upon being disappointed and finding themselves unmolested and treated civilly, will prove a boost for the Main Stem.