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#147557 09/07/05 11:55 PM
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ECH714 Offline OP
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THIS WEEK WORDS WILL BE ABOUT NEW YORK CITY....MY QUESTION AND MAYBE YOU CAN ANSWER IT....HOW DID NYC GET THE NAME "THE BIG APPLE" AND WHILE YOU ARE AT IT...HOW ABOUT NEW ORLEANS BEING CALLED "THE BIG EASY" AND THERE ARE MORE....



#147558 09/08/05 12:24 AM
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shhhhhh. you'll wake the baby.


#147559 09/08/05 12:55 AM
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New York City became the Big Apple because of a high-class bordello popular in the city in the early 1800s. The founder of the bordello was a Frenchwoman named Evelyn. Locals called her Eve, and jokes about her staff as apples followed. Variations on the apple reference expanded until the entire city was referred to as The Apple by the early 1900s. You can find more details here:

http://salwen.com/apple.html

The origin of "The Big Easy" is less clear, but the leading theory seems to be that it was applied to N'awlins because the city had such a relaxed atmosphere.






(And the perhaps cryptic comment by our friend Faldage is a reference to your use of all caps in your post; it is established internet usage that all caps indicate SHOUTING by the poster.)




#147560 09/08/05 02:27 AM
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Pooh-Bah
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And, hey, ECH174! Wecome aboard!


#147561 09/08/05 10:32 AM
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addict
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Yep, we come aboard, so book us at the Captain's table!


#147562 09/08/05 11:06 AM
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I love it. "Often, the explanation of the so-called 'origin' of this phrase is accompanied with plausible-sounding historical or biographical details, giving it an unmistakable (but alas, totally spurious) 'ring of truth.'"

Then they proceed to weave a tale accompanied with plausible-sounding historical or biographical details, giving it an unmistakable (but alas, totally spurious) "ring of truth."

For another opinion, and one to which I would attribute more plausibility, see:

http://www.wordorigins.org/wordorb.htm#Big


#147563 09/08/05 12:25 PM
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ECH714 Offline OP
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THANK YOU FOR POSTING THE CRYPTIC COMMENT. I GET THIS OCCASIONALLY BECAUSE YOU SEE, I HAVE A RATHER SEVERE VISION PROBLEM AND SOMETIMES I CAN CHANGE THE FONT SIZE BUT DON'T KNOW HOW ON THIS BOARD. SORRY, NO OFFENSE MEANT. BUT I WOULD THINK THEY WOULD HAVE THE GOOD MANNERS TO FIND OUT WHY ONE POSTS IN CAPITAL LETTERS. IT'S A BITCH TO BE ALMOST BLIND I CAN ASSURE YOU.
THANK YOU


#147564 09/08/05 12:54 PM
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Welcome, ECH. We have other members with severe vision problems and I'm sorry to hear of yours. But it's good that you seem to be able to read the answers without their being in all caps, yes? I agree it would be nice for many of us if we could increase font size here, but if there is a way, I sure don't know it! Maybe another member will have a suggestion.

Oh, and back on topic, I was taught in tour guide class in NYC the jazz musician origin of "Big Apple."

Edit: I just went to the preferences page and you can increase front size here near the bottom of the page!

http://wordsmith.org/board/editdisplay.pl?Cat=

#147565 09/08/05 01:01 PM
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HI ECH. SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR VISION. YOU CAN CHANGE THE FONT SIZE IN YOUR PROFILE-EDIT DISPLAY PREFERENCES. DOWN TOWARDS THE BOTTOM. IT'S ALSO SOMETHING THAT MOST BROWSERS CAN DO. CHECK THE "VIEW" SETTINGS.

WE ALSO HAVE MEMBERS HERE THAT USE TEXT-TO-SPEECH SYSTEMS. MIGHT BE SOMETHING TO CHECK IN TO, IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY. PERHAPS MAX WILL JUMP IN HERE.

YOU MIGHT ALSO CONSIDER A LITTLE "DISCLAIMER" IN YOUR SIGNATURE ABOUT YOUR USE OF ALL CAPS.

WELCOME TO THE BOARD!!

edit: sorry for the mantle, Anna, I was a typin'...


formerly known as etaoin...
#147566 09/08/05 03:20 PM
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with firefox browser:
Ctrl(plus)+ increase
Ctrl+- decrease
Ctrl+0 normal

and speaking of manners, I'd ask about options first...

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