Big Apple

Popularized by John J. Fitz Gerald in horse-racing articles in the 1920s - an apple being a treat for a horse, and New York being a prize location for horse-racing at the time. From usage among African American stable hands. See the Wikipedia article.

The Big Apple. The dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There's only one Big Apple. That's New York.

the Big Apple

1. A nickname for New York City.
   • 1976, “Song for Sharon”, in Hejira, performed by Joni Mitchell:

     Sharon, I left my man
     At a North Dakota junction
     And I came out to the Big Apple here
     To face the dream's malfunction

• Big Peach

• Michael Quinion (2004) “Big Apple”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.
• John J. Fitz Gerald (1924) “Around the Big Apple”, in New York Morning Telegraph‎

Borrowed from English Big Apple.

• IPA^(key): /bi.ɡ‿a.pœl/

Big Apple f

1. Big Apple (nickname for New York City)

   Synonym: Grosse Pomme