Letter to Editor on "The Big Apple"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Is the "anatomical features" business the latest fantasy attached to this canard?

JL

"Cohen, Gerald Leonard" <gcohen at UMR.EDU> wrote:
---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: "Cohen, Gerald Leonard"
Subject: Letter to Editor on "The Big Apple"
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Dear Editor,
The brothel story about New York City's nickname "The Big Apple" is a hoax. It has been circulated on the web, but there is not a shred of truth to it. None.

Sincerely,
Gerald Cohen, Ph.D.
Professor of German and Russian
(research specialty: Etymology, especially of British and American slang; author: Origin of New York City's Nickname "The Big Apple" (1991); a revised edition will appear in two years and include a detailed refutation of the brothel etymology.)
University of Missouri-Rolla
Rolla, MO 65409
office phone (secretary): (573) 341-4869
email: gcohen at umr.edu
P.S. Independent scholar Barry Popik deserves great credit for his work on "The Big Apple." You may check out his website at barrypopik.com. (I have also published his contributions to the subject in several of my articles, and the revision of my book on this topic will be co-authored with him.)


[in reference to:]
(FACTIVA)
OPINION
Historical facts
Staff Reports
219 words
4 March 2005
Tulsa World
FINAL HOME EDITION
A18
English
Copyright (c) 2005 Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved.

"The big what?" (Feb. 25) about the new campaign by New York City to call itself The World's Second Home ends by citing the current nickname, The Big Apple. The writer says: "Stick with 'The Big Apple.' It has more class."

I had to chuckle as I did a Google search on the origin of the nickname while teaching American Culture to my students at the Petroleum University of East China last year. The origin may have something to do with certain anatomical features of the ladies at a house of ill repute in the early days of the city.

I miss the Page 2 call-in feature the World dropped in January, but today the editorial page was as entertaining as that page ever was.

Linda Shindler, Ponca City


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