Why is New York called The big apple and why did they refer as prizes as apples?

Answer 1

This commonly asked question got me wondering, why do we call New York City the Big Apple? While I've seen several apple trees in New York City, I don't particularly recall them as being in notable quantity -- there are certainly more pigeons than apples in New York City, but we don't call New York City the "Big Pigeon." As with anything New York, there are many opinions and contradictions.

In the early 1920s, "apple" was used in reference to the many racing courses in and around New York City. Apple referred to the prizes being awarded for the races -- as these were important races, the rewards were substantial.

Based on the research of Barry Popik, the use of "Big Apple" to refer to New York City became clearer. Popik found that a writer for the New York Morning Telegraph, John Fitzgerald, referred to New York City's races "Around the Big Apple." It is rumored that Fitzgerald got the term from jockeys and trainers in New Orleans who aspired to race on New York City tracks, referring to the "Big Apple."

In the late 1920s and early 1930s, New York City's jazz musicians began referring to New York City as the "Big Apple." An old saying in show business was, "There are many apples on the tree, but only one Big Apple." New York City being the premier place to perform was referred to as the Big Apple.

As well, common language included "taking a bite out of the apple" as a reference to taking a risk: after all, one could certainly bite into a worm or into a juicy and delicious mainstay of life. Most people, obviously, avoided the worm or else everyone would have avoided apples in favor of a better fruit. Thus, "taking a bite out of the apple" came to mean "taking a chance to be rewarded with something wonderful!" Certainly for numerous singers, lyricists, musicians, dancers, theater managers, writers and others found fame and fortune in The Big Apple of New York City. (The fact that many others found "the worm" could be overlooked when someone could easily visualize a large, red, juicy, and delicious apple ripe for the "pickin' and eatin' ".

A 1971 campaign to increase tourism to New York City adopted "The Big Apple" as an officially recognized slogan. The campaign featured red apples in an effort to lure visitors. Officials hoped that the red apples would serve as a bright and cheery image of New York City, in contrast to the common belief that New York City was dark and dangerous. Since then, New York City has officially been The Big Apple.