# City nicknames **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 13, 2006, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516 "2006-09-13T08:12:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/61 "2006-09-13T20:50:06Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] We’ve already had Chicago = Windy City, but Baku (Azerbaijan) = [Windy City](http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/62_folder/62_articles/62_traveltips.html) Wellington (New Zealand) = [Windy City](http://www.deepfried.tv/news/news_home.cfm?Pg=480&ID=540) [/QUOTE] Chicago isn’t even the windiest city in the USA. Living on the plains for years, I can personally vouch for how windy The O.K.C. is . Look at Amarillo, Abeline, Cheyene, Dodge City, Casper, OKC, Fargo, Boston, Wichita, Springfiled, Corpus Christi, NYC, Billings, etc … on [this list](http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/avgwind.html) compared to Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/62 "2006-09-13T21:01:08Z")
[QUOTE=Tapioca Dextrin] We’ve already had Chicago = Windy City, but Baku (Azerbaijan) = [Windy City](http://www.azer.com/aiweb/categories/magazine/62_folder/62_articles/62_traveltips.html) Wellington (New Zealand) = [Windy City](http://www.deepfried.tv/news/news_home.cfm?Pg=480&ID=540) [/QUOTE] It gets a whole Wikipedia disambiguation page: [Windy City - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windy_City) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/63 "2006-09-13T21:01:12Z")
For extreme winds, I suggest the F5 tornados. A wind speed of 318 mph was recorded near OKC, OK on May 3, 1999. And Mt Washington in New Hampshire has recorded 231 mph. [Current weather.](http://www.mountwashington.org/weather/conditions.php) ---
**Author:** ![Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a88e4f/32.png) [@Eleanor\_of\_Aquitaine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eleanor_of_Aquitaine)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/64 "2006-09-13T21:02:02Z")
**Huntsville, AL** is nicknamed “Rocket City”. As you drive into the city from the north one of the first things you’ll see is a full-size replica of the Saturn V Rocket at the US Space and Rocket Center. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Woo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7c8e57/32.png) [@Dr.Woo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Woo)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/65 "2006-09-13T21:05:30Z")
Gee, I don’t see this one yet: Camarillo (CA) - The Lima Bean Capital of the World. I’m so proud . . . ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/66 "2006-09-13T21:05:55Z")
Baltimore is Charm City. A public relations campaign years ago tried “The City That Reads” but that got morphed into “The City That Breeds” because of the insanely high teen birth rates. Natty Boh beer often called Baltimore The Land of Pleasant Living in their ads. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Rosewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mr.Rosewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Rosewater)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/67 "2006-09-13T22:08:14Z")
[QUOTE=NoClueBoy] Chicago isn’t even the windiest city in the USA. Living on the plains for years, I can personally vouch for how windy The O.K.C. is . Look at Amarillo, Abeline, Cheyene, Dodge City, Casper, OKC, Fargo, Boston, Wichita, Springfiled, Corpus Christi, NYC, Billings, etc … on [this list](http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/online/ccd/avgwind.html) compared to Chicago. [/QUOTE] Cecil did a column about the nickname. This [thread=293759]thread[/thread] has a discussion and related links. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/68 "2006-09-13T22:13:57Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] SF is Baghdad by the Bay. [/QUOTE] _Babylon_ by the Bay, actually, as coined by the late, great columnist, Herb Caen. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/69 "2006-09-13T22:17:33Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Rosewater] Cecil did a column about the nickname. This [thread=293759]thread[/thread] has a discussion and related links. [/QUOTE] I’m not debating that Chicago is _called_ The Windy City. It obviously is. What I’m pointing out is that it’s a mistake to take that firmly entrenched nickname and assert that it means Chicago is the _windiest_ city, which many people mistakenly do. Yes. Yes they do. I’ve heard 'em. Just like my friends calling me a Big Ox. I’m not an ox. There are oxen bigger than me. Hell, there are people bigger than me. And yet I am, “NCB, that Big Ox.” So, what is in a name? Would a rose, by any other name and whot not… ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/70 "2006-09-13T22:20:02Z")
Burlington, VT is yet another ‘Queen City.’ Troy, NY is ‘The Collar City.’ ---
**Author:** ![ThisSpaceForRent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thisspaceforrent/32/345_2.png) [@ThisSpaceForRent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThisSpaceForRent)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/71 "2006-09-13T22:24:37Z")
[QUOTE=NoClueBoy] Eureka Springs, AR - Wedding Capitol of the Ozarks [/QUOTE] LOL…I got married in Eureka Springs, AR…second time…she was my ex HS sweetheart…didn’t work, OK I know TMI… FTR not a city but all of Illinois South of I64 is little Eygypt…and Carbondale is C’dale… tsfr ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Rosewater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/898d66/32.png) [@Mr.Rosewater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Rosewater)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/72 "2006-09-13T22:30:38Z")
[QUOTE=NoClueBoy] I’m not debating that Chicago is _called_ The Windy City. It obviously is. What I’m pointing out is that it’s a mistake to take that firmly entrenched nickname and assert that it means Chicago is the _windiest_ city, which many people mistakenly do. Yes. Yes they do. I’ve heard 'em. Just like my friends calling me a Big Ox. I’m not an ox. There are oxen bigger than me. Hell, there are people bigger than me. And yet I am, “NCB, that Big Ox.” So, what is in a name? Would a rose, by any other name and whot not… [/QUOTE] I just thought it might be an interesting read. I didn’t mean to contradict you or anything. FTR, I had always believed the story about it referring to politicians rather than weather. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/73 "2006-09-13T22:44:53Z")
Which of these are nicknames and which are slogans? For instance, **San Diego** is “American’s Finest City,” but nobody actually calls it that, whereas everyone says “TJ” for **Tijuana** (aka “The Armpit of the World,” a bit unfair in my opinion). People call **Aberystwyth** (aka “Aber”) “The San Francisco of Wales,” but I’m never sure which city that’s actually meant to insult. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/74 "2006-09-13T22:47:53Z")
[QUOTE=Mr. Rosewater] I just thought it might be an interesting read. I didn’t mean to contradict you or anything. FTR, I had always believed the story about it referring to politicians rather than weather. [/QUOTE] Oh. I blame all that cappaccino. It was inded an interesting column. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/75 "2006-09-13T23:09:51Z")
Boise, Idaho- “The City of Trees” or “Tree City”. The name “Boise” is derived from the French word for tree. Pocatello is called “Poky” by those who can’t be bothered to pronounce the extra two syllables. Likewise, Twin Falls is “Twin” for short. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/76 "2006-09-13T23:23:11Z")
[QUOTE=delphica] Buffalo, NY is also the Nickel City. I’m the most fond of this one, because it’s a nickname that you could figure out by thinking about it. [/QUOTE] Never knew that one! Like it! ---
**Author:** ![Godfrey\_Daniels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/77 "2006-09-13T23:29:30Z")
Memphis - Bluff City, River City, City Beautiful ---
**Author:** ![Godfrey\_Daniels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Godfrey\_Daniels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Godfrey_Daniels)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/78 "2006-09-13T23:31:21Z")
Nashville is, of course, Music City. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/79 "2006-09-13T23:38:12Z")
Boston is also “The Hub” “Lynn, Lynn, (MA), the City of Sin” (only cuz it rhymed). Beverly MA (used to be, maybe still) = “The City in the Country By the Sea”. Salem MA = “The Witch City” ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2006, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516/80 "2006-09-14T01:08:55Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] _Babylon_ by the Bay, actually, as coined by the late, great columnist, Herb Caen. [/QUOTE] [nitpick] Although I’ve heard “Babylon by the Bay” used occasionally, the one coined by Herb Caen was indeed **twickster** ’s offering of [Baghdad by the Bay](http://www.mistersf.com/literary/index.html?litcaen02.htm). [/nitpick] Another of **New Orleans** ’ nicknames has been “The City that Care Forgot”, although unfortunately there hasn’t been much occasion to call it that in the last year or so. ☹ Although **Paris** is often called “The City of Light **s** ”, the French term is _“la ville lumière”_, which is closer to “The City of Light”. [I also prefer the latter translation because the former sounds more appropriate for Las Vegas than for Paris. It’s the quality of light that enters your soul, not flashing neon!!!] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/city-nicknames/372516.md?page=5)