Friday, May 9, 2008

Friday's List - Nyoo Yawk City?

Here is a list of 98 nicknames for New York City (with some explanatory links added). Growing up on Long Island, we always just called it #20. And remember that everywhere north of the Throgs Neck Bridge is "upstate." The list comes from kottke, who picked it up from the Gothamist. As you may see, I take issue with some of these. Really, trust me, I've been there. God, are New Yorkers that pretentious? I apologize in advance.
  1. America's Leading Tourist Resort
  2. America's Mecca
  3. Father Knickerbocker (referring to the type of trousers worn by the early Dutch settlers)
  4. Gotham (name given to New York City by Washington Irving in the Salmagundi Papers, 1807)
  5. Babylonian Bedlam (allusion to the confusion of tongues at Babel, described in Genesis XI)
  6. Baghdad of the Subway
  7. Baghdad on the Hudson
  8. The Banking Center of the World
  9. The Big Apple
  10. The Big Burg
  11. The Big City
  12. The Big Town
  13. The Biggest Gateway to Immigrants
  14. The Burg
  15. The Business Capital of the Nation
  16. The Business Capital of the World
  17. The Capital of Finance
  18. The Capital of the World
  19. The Center of the World (Trygve Lie, first United Nations general secretary, on Sept. 7, 1962)
  20. The City
  21. The City at the Crossroads of High Diplomacy
  22. The City of Cities (book by Hulbert Foother)
  23. The City of Friendly People (sorry, what was that one?)
  24. The City of Golden Dreams
  25. The City of Islands (the borough of Manhattan and numerous other small islands within the city limits)
  26. The City of Light (wait a minute, isn't that this city?)
  27. The City of Orchestras (music center and "Tin Pan Alley")
  28. The City of Skyscrapers (the tallest building in the world; the Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, 60 Wall Tower, etc.)
  29. The City of Superlatives
  30. The City of the World
  31. The City of Towers
  32. The City that Belongs to the World
  33. The City that Never Sleeps
  34. The City with Everything
  35. The Cleanest Big City in the World (*choke*)
  36. The Coliseum City
  37. The Commercial Capital of America
  38. The Commercial Emporium
  39. The Corporate Capital of America
  40. The Crossroads of the World
  41. The Cuisine Capital of the World
  42. The Cultural Capital of America
  43. The Cultural Center of the Nation
  44. The Cultural City
  45. The Empire City
  46. The Entertainment Capital of the World
  47. The Fashion Capital of the World
  48. The Fear City
  49. The Financial Capital of the World
  50. The Financial Hub
  51. The First City of the World (the most populated city in the United States, approximately 8 million) (*gasp*)
  52. The Friendly City (*snicker*)
  53. The Frog and Toe
  54. The Front Office of American Business
  55. The Fun City
  56. The Fun City on the Hudson
  57. The Greatest All-Year Round Vacation City
  58. The Greatest Industrial Center in the World
  59. The Headquarters of World Banking
  60. The Hong Kong of the Hudson
  61. The Host of the World
  62. The Hub City of the World
  63. The Hub of Transport
  64. The Information City
  65. The Land of Surprising Contrasts
  66. The Mecca for Young Adults
  67. The Media City
  68. The Melting Pot (drama by Israel Zangwill, 1908)
  69. The Metropolis
  70. The Metropolis of a Continent
  71. The Metropolis of America
  72. The Metropolitan City
  73. The Mighty Manhattan
  74. The Modern Gomorrah (one of the cities if the plains destroyed by fire and brimstone because of wickedness, mentioned in the Old Testament)
  75. The Money Town
  76. The Most Colorful Exciting City in the World
  77. The Movie-Making City
  78. The Nation's First City
  79. The Nation's Greatest City
  80. The Nation's Largest Communications Center
  81. The Nation's Largest Port
  82. The Port of Many Ports
  83. The Printing Capital of the World
  84. The Restaurant City
  85. The Science City
  86. The Seat of Empire (named in 1784 by George Washington)
  87. The Super City
  88. The University of Telephony
  89. The Vacation City
  90. The Wonder City
  91. The Wonder City of the World
  92. The Wonderful Town
  93. The World Capital of Fashion
  94. The World's Capital City
  95. The World's Fair City
  96. The World's Financial Capital
  97. The World's Metropolis
  98. The World's Most Exciting All Year Round Vacation Center

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