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.
Recent entries:
•“Never underestimate my desire at any given moment to go home” (4/23)
•“I’m a better person when I’m tan and holding a margarita” (4/23)
•“You ARE a good driver. That curb DOESN’T belong there” (4/23)
•“‘It’s been a long week.’—Me, in the middle of Tuesday” (4/23)
•“Buying frozen pizza is such a lie. ‘Oh I’ll save this for when I don’t feel like cooking’. Surprise, surprise. Day one” (4/22)
More new entries...
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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.
This site is edited by Barry Popik. These are the Cookies and Privacy Policies.
Churrnut (churro + doughnut)
Shutdown Theater (Government Shutdown Theater)
Shamparency (sham + transparency)
Bubblecovery (bubble + recovery)
Shut Happens (shut + shit happens)
“An amateur photographer worries about equipment…” (photography aphorism)
Big Apple (cocktail with sake)
Brooklynesque
Can’t Find The Crooks (CFTC backronymic nickname)
Deficit Day
“You’ll lose money chasing women, but you’ll never lose women chasing money”
Freadom (freedom + read)
“There’s no such thing as good money or bad money—there’s just money”
“During exams, students look up for inspiration, down in desperation”
“The weather is like the government, always in the wrong”
“Golf is like taxes” (golf joke)
“Never trust politicians or weather forecasters”
“Nice guys finish lunch”
Shutstorm (shutdown + shitstorm)
“The taxpayers are sending congressmen on expensive trips abroad” (joke)
Foodball (food + football)
Wrappetizer (wrap + appetizer)
“Would you like to hear the world’s best Aggie joke?” (Aggie joke)
“Never argue with a man who buys ink by the barrel” (newspaper adage)
“Work one’s tail off”
Generation Screwed
Vampire REO
Haloodie (halal + foodie)
Blueway (East River Blueway)
“Get your chef together”
“Take this job and shove it”
“No glove, no love”
“How about them cookies?”
Drunch (drink/drunk + brunch/lunch)
Septagon (seven-sided bathroom in Central Park’s Arsenal)
Mary Pickford (cocktail)
Unique Dining Capital of Texas (Roanoke nickname)
Chelsea Apple Orchard (1820s)
Christmas Capital of Texas (Grapevine nickname)
D-fence (“defense” sign)
Mr. October (baseball playoffs hero)
Chewsday (chew + Tuesday)
Mark Twain (nautical term and name)
“Never take a hostage that you can’t shoot”
“Streaks follow streaks” (sports adage)
“A month does not a trend make”
Starbuckese or Starbucksese (language of Starbucks)
Pumpkin Spice Latte
“Eat, shop, sleep”
“Crash for cash” (auto insurance fraud)
“Flash for cash” (auto insurance fraud)
Pigeon Chess (“like playing chess with a pigeon”)
The Big Sleep (a long period of no growth)
“Grits is the shit” (“Grits are the shit”)
“Getting on the check”
Lower Eastpacking District (Lower East Side + Meatpacking District)
“Getting on the draw”
Duffin (doughnut + muffin)
Toast (sports slang)
Airport Test (employee selection test)
“Cup of tea” (a preference)
Rich Boy (sandwich)
Cheese Dip
Chuggable
“Education is useless without the Bible”
“Sign in haste, repent at leisure”
Rockettes (dance company)
Chinese Home Run (Chinese Homer)
“Never ask a man his wage or a woman her age”
“The Bible must be considered as the great source of all the truth”
Rigulator or Riggulator (rig/rigging + regulator)
Sleeping Policeman (speed bump)
Speed Bump
“Eat clean, train dirty”
“It’s the silence between the notes that makes the music”
“Music is the space between the notes”
“The way to make money is to identify the trend whose premise is false, then bet against it”
Adirondack Bear Paw or Adirondack Black Bear (ice cream)
Bear Claw (ice cream)
“Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey”
Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle (“Yahoo!” backronym)
SINO or SPINO (Speaker In Name Only)
Thanksgivukah or Thanksgivukkah (Thanksgiving + Chanukah/Hanukkah)
Menurkey (menorah + turkey)
La Margherita (pizza cocktail)
“If it weren’t for Spring Forward and Fall Back, I’d never get any exercise at all”
Gatorade Shower (Gatorade Bath)
Flavorgasm (flavor + orgasm)
Stupid Ass Test (“SAT” backronym)
“A new broom sweeps clean, but an old broom knows all the corners”
Wall Street Urinal (Wall Street Journal nickname)
Go Cup
“I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early”
“The first time I see a jogger smiling, I’ll consider trying it”
“I’m taking Viagra and drinking prune juice—I don’t know if I’m coming or going”
“An expert is someone called in at the last minute to share the blame”
“Success is the art of making your mistakes when no one is looking”
War Street Journal (Wall Street Journal nickname)
Capitalist Bible (Wall Street Journal nickname)
“The reward for work well done is the opportunity to do more”