Big apple is another

Why is New York City Called The Big Apple?

New York City has been called many things—“The Great American Melting Pot,” “Gotham,” “The City that Never Sleeps”—but its most famous nickname is “The Big Apple.” So just where did this now-ubiquitous moniker originate?

MAKING A BIG APPLE

Over the years, there have been many theories about how New York City came to be called “The Big Apple.” Some say it comes from the former well-to-do families who sold apples on the city’s streets to make ends meet during the Great Depression. Another account posits that the term comes from a famous 19th-century brothel madam named Eve, whose girls were cheekily referred to as her “Big Apples.” But the nickname actually springs from a catchphrase used in the 1920s by The Morning Telegraph sports writer John J. Fitz Gerald in his horse racing column, “Around the Big Apple.” Beginning on February 18, 1924, he began every column with the header, “The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York.”

At the time, the jockeys and trainers of smaller horses were said to want to make a “Big Apple,» which was their term for the big money prizes at larger races in and around New York City.

Fitz Gerald reportedly first heard «The Big Apple» used to describe New York’s racetracks by two African American stable hands at the famed New Orleans Fair Grounds, as he explained in his inaugural «Around the Big Apple» column: “Two dusky stable hands were leading a pair of thoroughbreds around the ‘cooling rings’ of adjoining stables at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans and engaging in desultory conversation. ‘Where y’all goin’ from here?’ queried one. ‘From here we’re headin’ for The Big Apple,’ proudly replied the other. ‘Well, you’d better fatten up them skinners or all you’ll get from the apple will be the core,’ was the quick rejoinder.” Fitz Gerald nabbed the colloquialism for his column, where it quickly took off.

CATCHING ON

Once the term entered the vocabularies of society up north, its popularity slowly spread outside of the horseracing context, and everything from nightclubs in Harlem to hit songs and dances about the city were named after “The Big Apple.” Most notably, New York jazz musicians in the 1930s—who had a habit of using the nickname to reference their hometown in their songs—helped the nickname spread beyond the northeast.

Throughout the mid-20th century, it remained New York City’s nickname until it was officially adopted by the city in the 1970s. The New York Convention & Visitors Bureau hoped that using the moniker would brighten the image of an economically downtrodden and crime-ridden city in decline and revive the tourist economy. In 1997, to give Fitz Gerald his (somewhat unjust) due, then-Mayor Rudy Giuliani signed legislation naming the corner where Fitz Gerald and his family lived at West 54th Street and Broadway between 1934 and 1963 “Big Apple Corner.”

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Why is New York Called the “Big Apple” Nickname

Why is NYC called the Big Apple? In this post, we look at the Big Apple meaning, as well as its origin, debunked theories, and more.

New York City is known by many names.

The city so nice, they named it twice. Gotham. The city that never sleeps.

However, no name is more popular than “the Big Apple.”

It’s big, sure, but why not an orange or a kumquat?

Here’s why New York City is called The Big Apple.

First Known Usage of “Big Apple”

“Kansas is apt to see in New York a greedy city…. It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap.”

That passage comes from a 1909 book called The Wayfarer in New York, by Edward Martin.

Experts disagree if this is when the term “Big Apple” was coined, however.

The Random House Dictionary of American Slang says it was used most likely in a sense “metaphorical or perhaps proverbial, rather than a concrete example of the later slang term.”

On the other hand, the NYT notes that “capitalization is not necessary in coinage, and quotation marks only would suggest an earlier use.”

Did you know? Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “New York is a sucked orange.” He didn’t much like New York City, and his point here is that a sucked orange lacks any juice.

Check out more great New York quotes that we have! (more positive, as well!)

Who Popularized the “Big Apple” Phrase?

In the New York Morning Telegraph, on May 3, 1921, turf racing writer John Fitz Gerald wrote in his horseracing column:

“J. P. Smith, with Tippity Witchet and others of the L. T. Bauer string, is scheduled to start for “the big apple” to-morrow after a most prosperous Spring campaign at Bowie and Havre de Grace.”

This passage by Fitz Gerald solidified its usage as a nickname for New York City.

However, he didn’t coin it himself. While in New Orleans, he overheard stable hands saying that the greatest reward for any thoroughbred is to reach the “Big Apple,” referring to a New York racetrack.

Others followed his example later in the 1920s. There was the “Big Apple” song by Bob Emmerich, as well as the Big Apple night club which opened in Harlem in 1934. More jazz musicians used the term in the 1930s, as well.

Then, in the 1970s, NYC’s official marketing organization, New York Convention and Visitors Bureau (now NYC & Company) started to use “Big Apple” as a slogan in tourism campaigns.

What did “Big Apple” Mean Before the 1920s?

Though it’s synonymous with NYC now, it was not always the case, as the term dates back a century more, at least.

Carmen Nigro, coordinator of research services for the NY Public Library, wrote this:

“Before it became a moniker for the city, ‘big apple’ had other meanings. Throughout the nineteenth century, the term meant ‘something regarded as the most significant of its kind; an object of desire and ambition.’ To ‘bet a big apple’ was ‘to state with supreme assurance; to be absolutely confident of.’”

Gerald Cohen’s Origin of New York City’s Nickname “The Big Apple” says that “in the 19th and presumably the early 20th century, a big red apple was apparently something of special desirability.”

The Big Apple’s Other Origins

There have been dozens of other theories and legends as to how New York City got its famous moniker.

Some are adorable, some are obviously inaccurate, and others still are plain crazy:

Great Depression – One older myth says this nickname came from people selling apples on the streets during the Depression.

Apple Orchards – After the State of Washington, New York is second when in apple production, but that also has nothing to do with the name.

Slave Code – One theory says that it was a “slave code” used in the 1850s for African Americans on the Underground Railroad, similar to “Georgia Peach.” No evidence, though.

Brothel Women – One debunked story said that a woman named Evelyn was a brothel owner. New Yorkers “got into the habit of referring to their amorous adventures as “having a taste of Eve’s Apples.” Amateur etymologist Barry Popik helped unmask that myth.

Big Apple NYC Aside

One quick thing I wanted to share is Big Apple Greeter. Greeters are volunteer tour guides, and they offer visitors to New York City a chance to show them the Big Apple the way only a local can.

If you’re planning a trip to New York City and are interested in meeting a local to show you some sights for free, head over to their website.

Just be sure to schedule a Greeter 3-4 weeks before you arrive, and you must stay within the five boroughs for at least two nights to take part.

How do you like them apples?

Christian Eilers

Christian Eilers is a travel and career advice writer who constantly loves to learn about the world through traveling, cultural stories, reading, and education. A native of New York City, when he is not traveling, he can find an abundance of cultural influences right in his own city, enough to keep him satisfied until the next country’s beckon cannot be ignored any longer.

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Почему Нью-Йорк называют «Большим яблоком»?

Такой термин, псевдоним «города мира» появился в 20-ые гг. прошлого века. Популяризации этого прозвища Нью-Йорка поспособствовал спортивный журналист Джон Джей Фитц Джеральд (John J. Fitz Gerald) , который отвечал за обзор скачек в газете Morning Telegraph .

В первый раз такое выражение появилось в номере газеты от 3 мая 1921 года:

J. P. Smith, with Tippity Witchet and others of the L. T. Bauer string, is scheduled to start for «the big apple» to-morrow after a most prosperous Spring campaign at Bowie and Havre de Grace.

(Джон Смит с чистокровной верховой лошадью Tippity Witchet вместе с другими из команды Лайонэла Бауэра завтра отправится в «Большое яблоко» , после удачных стартов в Bowie и Havre de Grace )

В последующие годы Фитц Джеральд достаточно часто употреблял это выражение, а 18 февраля 1924 года в специальной колонке «Around the Big Apple» (Вокруг Большого яблока) журналист объяснил причины его использования. Впервые он услышал его в Новом Орлеане (Луизиана), когда так называли ипподромы Нью-Йорк два афроамериканца. Жокеи имели в виду, что лошади любят яблоки, а так ка главные скачки проходили в Нью-Йорке, то это было «Большим яблоком». Выражение Фитц Джеральд объяснил так:

The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York.

Большое Яблоко. Мечта каждого парня, который когда-либо перебрасывал ногу над чистокровной лошадью и цель всех всадников. Есть только одно большое яблоко. Это Нью-Йорк

Ещё по одной, менее популярной, версии выражение зародилось в среде джазовых музыкантов. Якобы у них была пословица: » На древе успеха много яблок, но если тебе удалось завоевать Нью-Йорк, тебе досталось большое яблоко.»

В конце 1920-ых гг. выражение вышло за пределы скачек, а в с следующее десятилетие появились песня ( (Bob Emmerich — “Big Apple”, 1937 ) и танец, популярный изначально у афроамериканцев, с одноимённым названием. В 40-50-ые гг. прошлого века его продолжил использовать известный американский радиоведущий Уолтер Уинчелл, но в 60-ые популярность спала — город стали называть Fun City ( город веселья).

В начале 1970-ых гг. New York Convention and Visitors Bureau (маркетинговая городская организация, бюро, отвечающая за развитие туризма) стала вновь продвигать прозвище Big Apple. Жителям и туристам в Нью-Йорке раздавались наклейки с логотипом «Большого яблока», было заказано большое количество сувенирной продукции. Были проданы за символическую плату тысячу таких стикеров (около 80 тысяч штук за 2 и 10 центов в зависимости от размеров и материала). Рекламная компания прошла успешно, за городом надолго закрепилось прозвище «Большое яблоко».

В 1997 году мэр Нью-Йорка Рудольф Джулиани подписал указ, в результате которого угол Западной 54-ой улицы и Бродвея, где проживал Джон Фитц Джеральд, был назван Big Apple Corner (Угол Большого яблока).

В 2016 году по поводу своего избрания на пост Президента США Дональд Трамп организовал вечеринку под названием The Big Apple Ball (Большой яблочный шар), в рамках которой были представлены тематические декорации достопримечательностей города.

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The Big Apple: How NYC Got Its Name

TripSavvy / Brakethrough Media

New York, New York, the most populous city in the United States, has been given many nicknames, including The City That Never Sleeps, Empire City, and Gotham—but perhaps the most famous one of all is the Big Apple.

The nickname «The Big Apple» originated in the 1920s in reference to the prizes (or «big apples») rewarded at the many racing courses in and around New York City. However, it wasn’t officially adopted as the city’s nickname until 1971 as the result of a successful ad campaign intended to attract tourists.

Throughout its history, the term «big apple» has always come down to simply mean the best and biggest of places to be, and New York City has long lived up to its nickname. Once you visit this seven-mile-long city, you’ll truly understand why it’s called the Capital of the World and the Big Apple.

The Big Reward: From Racing to Jazz

The first mention of New York City as «The Big Apple» was in the 1909 book «The Wayfarer in New York.» In the introduction, Edward Martin writes about the dynamic between NYC and the Midwest, using the apple as an extended metaphor:

«New York is merely one of the fruits of that great tree whose roots go down in the Mississippi Valley, and whose branches spread from one ocean to the other, but the tree has no great degree of affection for its fruit. It inclines to think that the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap. It is disturbed by the enormous drawing power of a metropolis which constantly attracts to itself wealth and its possessors from all the lesser centers of the land. Every city, every State pays an annual tribute of men and of business to New York, and no State or city likes particularly to do it.»

The term only started gaining traction when sports writer John J. Fitz Gerald began writing about the city’s horse races for the New York Morning Telegraph. In his column, he wrote that these were «the big apples» of competitive racing in the United States.

Fitz Gerald got the term from African American stable hands in New Orleans; jockeys and trainers who aspired to race on New York City tracks referred to the money prizes as the «Big Apple. He once explained the term in an article for the Morning Telegraph:

«The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York.»

Although the audience for Fitz Gerald’s articles was markedly smaller than most, the concept of «big apple» representing the best of the best—or most-sought-after of rewards or accomplishments—began to popularize across the country.

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, the nickname started to become well known outside of the northeast, as New York City’s jazz musicians began referring to New York City as the «Big Apple» in their songs. An old saying in show business was «There are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple.» New York City was (and is) the premier place for jazz musicians to perform, which made it more common to refer to New York City as the Big Apple.

A Bad Reputation for the Big Apple

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, New York City was quickly earning a national reputation as a dark and dangerous city. To increase tourism to New York City in 1971, the city launched an ad campaign with Charles Gillett, president of the New York Convention and Visitors Bureau, at the helm. A fan of jazz, he wanted to restore the city to its former glory by adopting the Big Apple as an officially recognized reference to New York City.

The campaign featured red apples in an effort to lure visitors to New York City. The red apples, intended to serve as a bright and cheery image of the city, would stand in contrast to the common belief that New York City was riddled with crime and poverty. T-shirts, pins, and stickers promoting the «Big Apple» quickly became popular, thanks in part to the help of celebrities like New York Knicks legend Dave DeBusschere—and the city welcomed tourists to «take a bite out of the Big Apple.»

Since the conclusion of the campaign—and subsequent «rebranding» of the city—New York City has officially been nicknamed The Big Apple. In recognition of Fitz Gerald, the corner of 54th and Broadway (where Fitz Gerald lived for 30 years) was renamed «Big Apple Corner» in 1997.

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