murderburgers

[GEORGE THOMPSON]

        From the NYTimes, September 20, 2000, page B9, col. 1, in an article
about "Kevin F. Gill, the [NYC] Board of Education's chief of food
and transportation", under the headline "Food Chief Defends the $2.18
Lunch":

        "Mr. Gill's is the face that launches 5,500 buses (more than New
York City Transit, with 3,867 buses) and 860,000 hamburgers, fondly
known as murderburgers, every day for the city's public schools."

        I have not had a chance to enquire of my son and daughter, alumni of
NYC schools, nor my wife, a 15-year teacher in the system, as to
their familiarity with the word.

        $2.18, it seems, is the per-student figure for the daily food budget
of the NYC school system.

GAT