Barry Popik
@barrypopik.bsky.social
Author of an online dictionary (over 40,000 entries) investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. King of Dad Jokes & Oneliners. BarryPopik.com
Here's an iconic "Hap-pee new year!" from the film SHOW BOAT.
x.com/agnesmoorehe...
x.com/agnesmoorehe...
x.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:51 PM
Here's an iconic "Hap-pee new year!" from the film SHOW BOAT.
x.com/agnesmoorehe...
x.com/agnesmoorehe...
OT: You wrote a nice piece for Backstage about the origin of "Great White Way." The musical SHOW BOAT (1927) will turn 100 soon & its 1926 novel will turn 100. Could you tell people that "HAP-pee new year!" was popularized by Charles Winninger in this great musical?
barrypopik.com/blog/happy_n...
barrypopik.com/blog/happy_n...
"Happy new year!" (new year's shout)
"Happy new year!" is a traditional greeting said on January 1st. A popular way to say it is "HAP-py new year!" American stage…
barrypopik.com
December 4, 2025 at 1:46 PM
OT: You wrote a nice piece for Backstage about the origin of "Great White Way." The musical SHOW BOAT (1927) will turn 100 soon & its 1926 novel will turn 100. Could you tell people that "HAP-pee new year!" was popularized by Charles Winninger in this great musical?
barrypopik.com/blog/happy_n...
barrypopik.com/blog/happy_n...
Google delisted my etymology website (BarryPopik.com), with no explanation. How does one fight this?
The Big Apple
An etymological dictionary of American words, names, quotations and phrases, including regional dictionaries of New York City, Florida, Oregon and Texas.
BarryPopik.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Google delisted my etymology website (BarryPopik.com), with no explanation. How does one fight this?
Google delisted my etymology website (BarryPopik.com), with no explanation. How does one fight this?
The Big Apple
An etymological dictionary of American words, names, quotations and phrases, including regional dictionaries of New York City, Florida, Oregon and Texas.
BarryPopik.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Google delisted my etymology website (BarryPopik.com), with no explanation. How does one fight this?
I cowrote a recent book on the origin of the word "Dude," based on my well-known research of 30 years ago tracing it to an 1883 poem in the NY World. Grokipedia missed everything...I cowrote a book on the "Big Apple." It's never cited, but History, Mental Floss and ThoughtCo are. I could go on!
November 3, 2025 at 7:04 AM
I cowrote a recent book on the origin of the word "Dude," based on my well-known research of 30 years ago tracing it to an 1883 poem in the NY World. Grokipedia missed everything...I cowrote a book on the "Big Apple." It's never cited, but History, Mental Floss and ThoughtCo are. I could go on!
OT: Grokipedia manages to get almost all of my work wrong. How to correct it? You can't...For example, I told Grok that "Uncle Sam" was cited before the War of 1812. A story about an 1810 cite made the New York Times, and Wikipedia. Grokipedia forgot?
www.vox.com/technology/4...
www.vox.com/technology/4...
Elon Musk made his own Wikipedia. What could go wrong?
What the billionaire’s new encyclopedia tells us about the future of knowledge.
www.vox.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:00 AM
OT: Grokipedia manages to get almost all of my work wrong. How to correct it? You can't...For example, I told Grok that "Uncle Sam" was cited before the War of 1812. A story about an 1810 cite made the New York Times, and Wikipedia. Grokipedia forgot?
www.vox.com/technology/4...
www.vox.com/technology/4...
The "Big Apple Corner" sign was stolen in 2021. Both that sign and the "Senor Wences Way" sign were replaced in 2024, and the signs are now green.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:54...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:54...
commons.wikimedia.org
October 31, 2025 at 10:11 PM
The "Big Apple Corner" sign was stolen in 2021. Both that sign and the "Senor Wences Way" sign were replaced in 2024, and the signs are now green.
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:54...
commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:54...
That Merriam-Webster article was written about four years ago. I found the 1917 "trick or treat" citation (newly digitized) three years ago.
www.sootoday.com/rooted/origi...
www.sootoday.com/rooted/origi...
Origin of phrase ‘trick-or-treat’ in print traced to the Sault
Several sources have confirmed the earliest printed citations of Halloween’s most popular phrase came from The Sault Daily Star in 1917
www.sootoday.com
October 31, 2025 at 7:31 PM
That Merriam-Webster article was written about four years ago. I found the 1917 "trick or treat" citation (newly digitized) three years ago.
www.sootoday.com/rooted/origi...
www.sootoday.com/rooted/origi...
There needs to be a "Big Apple Place" sign in Harlem. I have written many letters to the mayor, but no one responds! Does anyone care about New York?
archives.yale.edu/repositories...
archives.yale.edu/repositories...
archives.yale.edu
October 23, 2025 at 11:11 PM
There needs to be a "Big Apple Place" sign in Harlem. I have written many letters to the mayor, but no one responds! Does anyone care about New York?
archives.yale.edu/repositories...
archives.yale.edu/repositories...
I asked Mayor Adams to honor the black stable hands at the New Orleans Fair Grounds who called NYC the "Big Apple" in 1920, as part of NYC 400. No one responded! Will you help me, and write a simple letter to the Fair Grounds?
www.nola.com/opinions/let...
www.nola.com/opinions/let...
Letters: NOLA gave NYC its nickname; honor Fair Grounds history
Over 30 years ago, I discovered the origin of New York City's famous nickname, the "Big Apple." It comes from the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. New York Morning Telegraph
www.nola.com
October 23, 2025 at 11:02 PM
I asked Mayor Adams to honor the black stable hands at the New Orleans Fair Grounds who called NYC the "Big Apple" in 1920, as part of NYC 400. No one responded! Will you help me, and write a simple letter to the Fair Grounds?
www.nola.com/opinions/let...
www.nola.com/opinions/let...
I have asked you, Mayor Adams, Cuomo and Sliwa to write a simple letter to the New Orleans Fair Grounds, to honor the black stable hands who called NYC the "Big Apple" in 1920, for NYC's 400th. NO ONE REPLIED!
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
New York City's 'Big Apple' nickname is traced back 100 years to 1920
Historian Barry Popik has spent three decades delving into how New York City got its nickname, The Big Apple, and he has linked it to the horseracing industry in Louisiana in 1920.
www.dailymail.co.uk
October 23, 2025 at 10:53 PM
I have asked you, Mayor Adams, Cuomo and Sliwa to write a simple letter to the New Orleans Fair Grounds, to honor the black stable hands who called NYC the "Big Apple" in 1920, for NYC's 400th. NO ONE REPLIED!
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article...
Miss Manhattan
www.missmanhattanmusical.com
September 26, 2025 at 11:45 PM
"Chicago, the windy city of the West" (1860).
www.newspapers.com/article/milw...
www.newspapers.com/article/milw...
"Chicago, the windy city of the west" (1860).
Clipping found in Milwaukee Daily Sentinel published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 7/4/1860. "Chicago, the windy city of the west" (1860).
www.newspapers.com
September 16, 2025 at 9:40 PM
"Chicago, the windy city of the West" (1860).
www.newspapers.com/article/milw...
www.newspapers.com/article/milw...
Maybe you can tell AccuWeather the "Windy City" truth, too?
www.accuweather.com/en/weather-n...
www.accuweather.com/en/weather-n...
Is Chicago really 'The Windy City?'
Chicago's nickname had nothing to do with the weather, but it still may be true.
www.accuweather.com
September 16, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Maybe you can tell AccuWeather the "Windy City" truth, too?
www.accuweather.com/en/weather-n...
www.accuweather.com/en/weather-n...
"Chicago, the windy city of the West" (1860).
www.newspapers.com/article/milw...
www.newspapers.com/article/milw...
"Chicago, the windy city of the west" (1860).
Clipping found in Milwaukee Daily Sentinel published in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 7/4/1860. "Chicago, the windy city of the west" (1860).
www.newspapers.com
September 16, 2025 at 9:04 PM
"Chicago, the windy city of the West" (1860).
www.newspapers.com/article/milw...
www.newspapers.com/article/milw...
Hey, Ken! I solved the "Windy City" 30 years ago! You had a Windy City Weekend! Maybe you can tell the world, and NBC 5 Chicago, the truth? "The Hawk" (wind nickname) is from Pennsylvania in 1877.
x.com/barrypopik/s...
x.com/barrypopik/s...
Barry Popik on X: "Chicago's "Windy City" nickname again. I proved, over 30 years ago, that it does not come from NY Sun editor Charles A. Dana and Chicago's bid for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. 1/ @LexiSutterTV @NBCChicago @btaylorblake @EsnpcB https://t.co/2u3CzsyfZL" / X
Chicago's "Windy City" nickname again. I proved, over 30 years ago, that it does not come from NY Sun editor Charles A. Dana and Chicago's bid for the 1893 Columbian Exposition. 1/ @LexiSutterTV @NBCChicago @btaylorblake @EsnpcB https://t.co/2u3CzsyfZL
x.com
September 16, 2025 at 8:50 PM
Hey, Ken! I solved the "Windy City" 30 years ago! You had a Windy City Weekend! Maybe you can tell the world, and NBC 5 Chicago, the truth? "The Hawk" (wind nickname) is from Pennsylvania in 1877.
x.com/barrypopik/s...
x.com/barrypopik/s...
Buffalo, NY (on the Great Lakes) was called a "windy city" in 1848. Chicago also took the nickname in the 1850s. From the 1860s, CIncinnati used "wind" as an insult to Chicago, a rival city. "The Hawk" (or "Old Hawkins") was cited in 1877, from Pennsylvania.
x.com/barrypopik/s...
x.com/barrypopik/s...
Barry Popik on X: "@KevinJeanes You, and your viewers, should know why Chicago is called the "Windy CIty." It's not because of NY Sun editor Charles A. Dana. Please correct!" / X
@KevinJeanes You, and your viewers, should know why Chicago is called the "Windy CIty." It's not because of NY Sun editor Charles A. Dana. Please correct!
x.com
September 13, 2025 at 10:09 PM
Buffalo, NY (on the Great Lakes) was called a "windy city" in 1848. Chicago also took the nickname in the 1850s. From the 1860s, CIncinnati used "wind" as an insult to Chicago, a rival city. "The Hawk" (or "Old Hawkins") was cited in 1877, from Pennsylvania.
x.com/barrypopik/s...
x.com/barrypopik/s...
I nominated Audrey Munson ("America's first supermodel") for the honor of a U.S. postage stamp. The USPS sent me a letter last week that they will discuss her at this month's meeting! I wrote an email about it and sent it to a lot of people.
September 3, 2025 at 2:54 AM
I nominated Audrey Munson ("America's first supermodel") for the honor of a U.S. postage stamp. The USPS sent me a letter last week that they will discuss her at this month's meeting! I wrote an email about it and sent it to a lot of people.
FYI, if you're interested in a longer Audrey Munson story with the latest developments, send me your email address....Would you believe, an Audrey Munson musical?
www.missmanhattanmusical.com
www.missmanhattanmusical.com
Miss Manhattan
www.missmanhattanmusical.com
September 3, 2025 at 12:34 AM
FYI, if you're interested in a longer Audrey Munson story with the latest developments, send me your email address....Would you believe, an Audrey Munson musical?
www.missmanhattanmusical.com
www.missmanhattanmusical.com
"Cocktail hour" (an earlier name for "happy hour") seems to have been the popular term in the 1930s.
www.newspapers.com/article/ariz...
www.newspapers.com/article/ariz...
Cocktail Hour (1934).
Clipping found in Arizona Daily Star published in Tucson, Arizona on 11/10/1934. Cocktail Hour (1934).
www.newspapers.com
August 26, 2025 at 11:19 PM
"Cocktail hour" (an earlier name for "happy hour") seems to have been the popular term in the 1930s.
www.newspapers.com/article/ariz...
www.newspapers.com/article/ariz...
Thanks! Check out "Cocktail Hour" at Happy Hour, in Billings, Montana (1945).
www.newspapers.com/article/the-...
www.newspapers.com/article/the-...
"Cocktail Hour" at Happy Hour (1945).
Clipping found in The Billings Gazette published in Billings, Montana on 2/28/1945. "Cocktail Hour" at Happy Hour (1945).
www.newspapers.com
August 26, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Thanks! Check out "Cocktail Hour" at Happy Hour, in Billings, Montana (1945).
www.newspapers.com/article/the-...
www.newspapers.com/article/the-...