# Stuff known as "The \[blank\]" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2011, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208 "2011-06-12T08:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/41 "2011-06-13T14:56:35Z")
NFL referees - The Zebras ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/42 "2011-06-13T15:00:52Z")
What about “teh gay”?😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hermitian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hermitian/32/470_2.png) [@Hermitian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermitian)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/43 "2011-06-13T15:43:05Z")
> [@sitchensis](#): > > Neither term would be used or understood in any place I have ever lived. I would consider “The District” as questionable, but “The Beltway” is definately more known. You will see it [mentioned](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Beltway) in national politics. ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/44 "2011-06-13T15:46:56Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > What about “teh gay”?😃 The Internets? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/45 "2011-06-13T15:47:29Z")
Alcatraz Prison and the island it sits on - The Rock. Muhammed Ali - The Greatest. William Bonny - The Kid. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/46 "2011-06-13T15:48:39Z")
The police have many nicknames. One of them is “the fuzz”. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/47 "2011-06-13T15:54:49Z")
Joe Montana to Dwight Clark vs. Cowboys in '82 NFC Championship - The Catch. The Broncos vs Browns in '87 AFC Championship - The Drive. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/48 "2011-06-13T15:59:53Z")
I’m guessing we ought to stay away from synonyms for _diarrhea_? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/49 "2011-06-13T16:02:09Z")
The annual Ohio State-Michigan football game is The Game. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/50 "2011-06-13T17:02:53Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > What I’m gunning for are things that are officially known as Such-and-Such [Thing] but are colloquially referred to as “The [Thing]” – for example, L.A.'s San Fernando Valley (one of multiple named valleys, but commonly called “The Valley”) would count, whereas [The Band](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Band) would not. 😉 As a spinoff to this notion, I’d like to call attention to a West Coast practice that gets used in movies and shows set elsewhere in the USA and which sticks out like a sore thumb: highways (mainly interstates but also toll roads and turnpikes) refered to as “the \_\_\_” with the blank containing a number, as in The 5 or The 10. When that convention is applied to roads in the east, e.g.; The 65 or The 95, it sounds weird. In this area it’s mostly I-65 or I-95. not THE whatever. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/51 "2011-06-13T17:19:19Z")
Atomic / nuclear weapons were collectively known as The Bomb. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/52 "2011-06-13T17:34:30Z")
LeBron taking his talents to South Beach - “The Decision” ---
**Author:** ![Blaster\_Master](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/cab0a1/32.png) [@Blaster\_Master](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blaster_Master)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/53 "2011-06-13T17:42:21Z")
> [@Hermitian](#): > > I would consider “The District” as questionable, but “The Beltway” is definately more known. You will see it [mentioned](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_the_Beltway) in national politics. I was going to say this. Even though I live here, I still see it mentioned nationally. Not only in politics, but even in sports. For instance, even though Baltimore has its own beltway too, when Baltimore and DC play in sports (Redskins/Ravens, Nats/Orioles) they’ll often call it the Battle of the Beltway. As for my own contribution, I’m surprised no one else has said it: The Pill. It’s so well known by that name that, even out of context, everyone knows exactly what pill it refers to, which may or may not be true for a lot of the other examples. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/54 "2011-06-13T18:45:43Z")
Major League baseball is “the Show”. ---
**Author:** ![Encinitas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Encinitas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Encinitas)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/55 "2011-06-13T18:56:19Z")
Menopause is “the change.” ---
**Author:** ![bleach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bleach/32/3106_2.png) [@bleach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bleach)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/56 "2011-06-13T19:43:24Z")
The Finger Some of my friends call facebook “The Book”. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/57 "2011-06-13T19:46:06Z")
Distance runners will find it at different places but all are aware of and have come into contact with “The Wall.” ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/58 "2011-06-13T20:00:18Z")
> [@Electric\_Warrior](#): > > Speaking of Chicago, we have The Bean. and the Loop. DC has “The Metro”. Never never call it “The Subway” unless you want to stick out as a tourist. What about “the Border”? In many contexts, it’s clear what “border” you are referring to by context. For example, if you are in upstate NY, and ask someone, “Why don’t we go across the border this weekend?”, it’s clear that you are talking about going to Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2011, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/59 "2011-06-13T23:36:44Z")
[This building](http://www.strangebuildings.com/gherkin-building-london-uk/) in London, UK, is referred to as “The Gherkin”. (I thought it looked rather like a Faberge Egg when I saw it.) ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/60 "2011-06-14T01:40:38Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > What about “teh gay”?😃 " ‘IS HE THE GAAAAY?’ 'Well, god, Mom, I don’t know if he’s _the_ gay. That’s a lot of pressure on one guy. He has to do the parade all by himself. “I’m here! I’m queer! …I guess I’m the only one.” ’ " - Margaret Cho [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208.md?page=4)