That Bites; Red Hots; Knishpuppy; Corndog & more

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THAT REALLY BITES

   The CDS has "bites" (same as "sucks") from 1970s+.  The RHHDAS has it from
1971.
   From THIS WEEK, NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE, 5 April 1953, pg. 13, col. 1:

_THE DEDICATED JAZZBO_
_To popularize good jazz, Jazzbo Collins, a psychological_
_disc jockey, plays records in an imaginary purple grotto_
(...)
   ...but Jazzbo never explains why it's good.  "It's the most," "It's real
purple," or "That really bites" is as near contrapuntal analysis as he gets.

(I'm unsure what "bites" means in the context--ed.)

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RED HOTS

   OED has only "red hots"="hot dogs."  There is also "red hot chilli
peppers."
   From the NYHT, 6 April 1953, pg. 10, col. 6:

_"Red Hots" in Jars_
   On the same shelf a jar of "Red Hots," meaning small red peppers with a
nip of stem left to use as a pick-up.

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COLD AS A BARN

   Not in the OED.
   From the editorials in the NYHT, 3 February 1952, section 2, pg. 4, col.
2:
   _"Cold as a Barn"_
   An inappropriate phrase--often used by city folk--is to  call some
underheated apartment "as cold as a barn."  Every countryman knows that this
chilly comparison is being most unfair to the sort of comfortable,
old-fashioned barn that never gets set down in Sutton Place.  (...)

   From the letters, NYHT, 9 February 1952, pg. 8, col. 4:

_"Cold as a Barn"_
_Memories of Youthful Days on the Farm_

(FROM LETTER ONE:)  Cold as a barn? Where could a boy brought up on a farm
find a warmer place than the cow of the horse stables on a cold February day?

(FROM LETTER TWO:)  Your editorial "Cold as a Barn" (Feb. 3) was so true!
What a very wonderful place a country barn was.

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ATOM BALL

   Dickson's BASEBALL DICTIONARY gives no date.
   From the NYHT, 9 January 1953, pg. 22, col. 7:

   "My best pitch today," he (Dizzy Trout--ed.) confessed modestly in the
clubhouse afterward, "was my atom ball.  My atom ball?  That's the one I
throw at 'em."

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THROWS LIKE A GIRL

   A big baseball insult.  See the movie A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN.
   From the NYHT, 25 June 1952, pg. 27, col. 2:

   _Verdict: Threw Like Girl_
(...)
   "Threw like a girl," it read.

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SHOCKING!

   Obviously, from the movie CASABLANCA.  I'm shocked that there's gambling
here!
   The editorial cartoon in the NYHT, 28 February 1953, pg. 8, cols. 3-5,
shows the underworld going in and out of City Hall.  The Mayor says: "I'm
SHOCKED by the state's rejection of our fiscal program."
   The caption is:

Things Are Pretty Shocking All Around, Mr. Mayor!

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THIS MEANS YOU

   A tag line of a sign.  I haven't seen it recorded.
   From a sign in a photo, NYHT, 8 June 1946, pg. 14, cols. 2-3:

FOR PLAYERS ONLY
  _KEEP OUT_
THIS MEANS YOU

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KNISH PUPPY

   Artie's New York Delicatessen, 2290 Broadway at 83rd, (212) 579-5959,
www.arties.com, has:

Knishpuppy   3.95
KNISHPUPPY DELUXE
   Frankfurter Wrapped Inside a
   Potato Knish, with French Fries   6.90

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CORN DOGS

   Red Smith wrote these similar items.
   From the NYHT, 16 May 1952, pg. 24, col. 3:

   As to the Pacific Coast, there may be some fair doers in the Northwest but
all palates south of San Francisco are ruined in infancy by the native fare
of corndogs and double-rich-chocolate-malted-too-thick-for-a-straw.

   From the NYHT, 20 December 1952, pg. 16, col. 3:

   _Corn Dogs for New Year's_
(...)
   But there remains some question as to how it will sit upon stomachs that
have been treated for several days to the native California fare of Corn
Dogs, Pik'n Chik'n and Doublerich Chocolate Malted Too Thick for a Straw.

(Corndogs are native to California?  Mariani states the food comes from
Texas--ed.)