[Ads-l] The Big Apple entry in OED3; request to editors

[Cohen, Gerald Leonard]

This is a request to the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary concerning the

entry "Big Apple" as NYC's nickname. I am grateful for mention of my 1991 book

on the subject [specifically: "For detailed discussion of the history of the expression

see G. L. Cohen Origin of New York City's Nickname ‘The Big Apple’ (1991)"].



However, in 2011 a revised and expanded edition appeared, co-authored with

Barry Popik, an independent scholar and truly outstanding researcher of Americanisms:

         Cohen, Gerald Leonard and Barry Popik 2011. Origin of New York City’s Nickname 'The Big Apple', 2nd edition, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.

It was reviewed very favorably in 2015 by Allan Metcalf in  "Dictionaries" (Journal of the Dictionary Society of North America), vol. 36, pp. 168-169.



Might I ask that OED replace mention of my 1991 book with the much improved

2nd edition which I co-authored with Popik.  If there are any questions, I’d of course

be happy to answer them.


With best wishes,



Gerald Cohen





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