[Ads-l] big apple

[Peter Reitan]

I recently saw Martin Scorsese's film, "New York, New York."  During the 
film, Robert De Niro's character, a jazz saxophonist in late-1940s New 
York City, refers to New York City as "the Apple" a couple times.

I was familiar with Barry Popik's numerous early Big Apple citations, 
mostly from horse racing in the 1920s, and a dance craze in the 1930s, 
and a few scattered citations to the city itself from the mid-1940s 
through the 1950s.

But I hadn't seen any early, "the Apple" citations, so I wondered 
whether it was an anachronism.

In looking, I found one reference to New York City as "the Apple" from 
an African-American newspaper in 1947, so the usage in the film could 
have been appropriate to the time.

[Excerpt]
Nancy Waterman and Hattie Franklin were visiting in the "Apple," (New 
York City,) this weekend.
[End Excerpt]
>From the New England news section, specifically Lynn, Mass, in The New 
York Age, March 1, 1947, page 12.

I also found a few early examples of "the Big Apple" for the city, 
itself, not related to the dance craze or horse racing.

In another African-American newspaper in 1938.
[Excerpt]
Washington, D. C., Mar. 10 - Heading back to the "Big Apple," New York 
City, Earl Hines and his band closed another successful engagement at 
the Howard theatre here.
[End Excerpt]
The Pittsburgh Courier, March 12, 1938, page 20.


A slang article from 1928 describe "the Big Apple" as Hollywood slang.
[Excerpt] Hollywood's Own Language. . . . . THE BIG APPLE - New York 
city.[End Excerpt]
The Boston Globe, April 21, 1928, page 2.

Another slang article form 1928 refers to it as racketeer slang.

[Excerpt] Rapid Fire Lingo of Racketeer World Carries on Business of 
Handling the Hootch and "Rides" . . . . "the Big Apple," New York city . 
. . .[End Excerpt]

Press and Sun-Bulletin (Binghamton, New York), October 12, 1928, page 
26.



------ Original Message ------
From: "David Daniel" <dad at coarsecourses.com>
To: ADS-L at listserv.uga.edu
Sent: 2/3/2020 4:58:16 PM
Subject: big apple

>---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       David Daniel <dad at COARSECOURSES.COM>
>Subject:      big apple
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>I've been watching old Perry Mason shows. Very cool, as well as
>nostalgia-ridden. Anyway, the episode I'm watching now (air date Nov 15,
>1958) is about horse racing and Perry is defending a jockey accused of
>murder (of course he didn't do it). So Perry and Paul Drake are talking to
>the trainer who was the jockey's boss, and the trainer is talking about how
>you move up in the racing world. You start off small, etc. etc., and then
>one day you make it to the Big Apple. "The Big Apple?" Perry asks. "Yeah,"
>says the trainer, "Saratoga, Belmont..." meaning the big ones. Perry had
>never heard the term and there is no direct reference to New York, except of
>course that both those tracks are in New York. It's strictly treated as
>racing jargon. (A side note on these shows: I have watched about 45 of them
>now and have yet to see a black actor, not one. Feels very bizarre. Also
>everyone except Della Street is constantly - constantly - smoking.)
>DAD
>
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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org