# 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:** 18\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/61 "2011-06-14T04:36:03Z")
Greenwich Village is “The Village.” ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/62 "2011-06-14T19:01:19Z")
> [@Blaster\_Master](#): > > 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. See post #33. When somebody mentions the War, they’re usually referring specifically to World War II. ---
**Author:** ![EvilTOJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee59a6/32.png) [@EvilTOJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EvilTOJ)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/63 "2011-06-14T19:34:38Z")
I-84 through Portland, OR is referred to as “The Banfield” on traffic reports, although it’s not used by anyone else. Looks like the name is referenced on [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstate_84_in_Oregon). ---
**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 14, 2011, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/64 "2011-06-14T19:40:59Z")
John Wayne was “The Duke.” George Steinbrenner was “The Boss,” except in New Jersey, where it’s Bruce Springsteen. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/65 "2011-06-14T20:37:48Z")
The Stuff [The Stuff (1985) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090094/) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/66 "2011-06-14T20:42:52Z")
Not unique by any stretch, and a bit of a curiosity: [The Zone.](http://www.1045thezone.com/) Almost every station in this area is “The \_\_\_\_” something. I propose another thread to locate the most ridiculous name for a radio station in The World! ---
**Author:** ![scruffycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scruffycat/32/200_2.png) [@scruffycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scruffycat)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/67 "2011-06-14T21:23:52Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > Alcatraz Prison and the island it sits on - The Rock. As is Gibraltar I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/68 "2011-06-14T21:24:38Z")
The Hague. ---
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/69 "2011-06-14T21:45:40Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > 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. This is actually a Southern California practice. Just take the 101 to the 405 and get off on Santa Monica Blvd. As opposed to take 280 to 101 and go north. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/70 "2011-06-14T22:55:01Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > The Hague. How many Hagues are there? This is how I ran afoul of the OP’s premise. There is only one “[The Boss](http://www.brucespringsteen.net/photos/20091118/nashville09_chitlik.jpg)” ---
**Author:** ![Satchmo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/satchmo/32/4223_2.png) [@Satchmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satchmo)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/71 "2011-06-14T23:37:46Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > I have heard a rural usage of “the diabetes.” There’s also the flu. Also, the US usage of “in the hospital” vs “in hospital” in Europe. Similarly, though not necessarily rural, I’ve heard people refer to someone that died of ‘the cancer’. ---
**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 15, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/72 "2011-06-15T00:09:11Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > How many Hagues are there? This is how I ran afoul of the OP’s premise. That’s correct – items which already have “the [blank]” as its official name, or are too inspecific (i.e. “the Border”) don’t count. Otherwise this list (aka “The List”) would get way too out of control. 😉 Also, I’m afraid I’ll have to call foul on “the Ocean”, since the term doesn’t specify any particular ocean (and one could argue that there is only ONE ocean anyway.) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Mondegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/91b2a8/32.png) [@Lord\_Mondegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Mondegreen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/73 "2011-06-15T00:25:14Z")
> [@Suil\_Dubh](#): > > From fiction: “The Shire” And not from fiction, [Sutherland Shire](http://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/Home) in Sydney is known as “The Shire.” ---
**Author:** ![Ellen\_Cherry](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellen_cherry/32/3600_2.png) [@Ellen\_Cherry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellen_Cherry)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/74 "2011-06-15T01:12:29Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > I have heard a rural usage of “the diabetes.” Though it’s been a while, I’ve also heard rural people call it “the sugar.” ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/75 "2011-06-15T01:17:18Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > How many Hagues are there? … there are other The Hagues besides [The Hague](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hague)? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/76 "2011-06-15T01:20:58Z")
The Chairman of the Board - Sinatra The Big Game - Cal vs. Stanford ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/77 "2011-06-15T03:58:27Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > … there are other The Hagues besides [The Hague](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hague)? 😕 No there aren’t and that’s the point to defining the scope of this thread which I caught on to belatedly. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2011, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208/78 "2011-06-15T12:24:13Z")
> [@scruffycat](#): > > As is Gibraltar I believe. Darn Straits. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuff-known-as-the-blank/585208.md?page=3)