Big Apple

The "Big Apple" is a nickname for New York City.

First recorded usage: Edward S. Martin, in his 1909 book The Wayfarer in New York, wrote (regarding New York) that the rest of the United States "inclines to think the big apple gets a disproportionate share of the national sap."

Used in the title of a column in the New York Morning Telegraph[?], "Around the Big Apple with John J. Fitz Gerald," which first appeared in 1924

The term lost popularity in the 1950s, but was brought back into wide use after a 1970s promotional campaign by the New York Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.