The Big Easy and Sin City

09/01/2013

Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana

Now, the VOA Special English program Words and Their Stories.

Many cities have interesting nicknames. Nicknames can help establish the identity of a city. They can also spread pride among its citizens.

New Orleans, Louisiana probably has more nicknames than any other American city. One web site lists more than twenty nicknames. The most famous is “The Big Easy.” It describes the gentle, slow and easy-going way of life in New Orleans.

So how did the city get this nickname? In the early 1900s there was a dance hall in New Orleans called “The Big Easy.” But the nickname did not become famous until the early 1970s. That was when a Louisiana newspaper writer began calling New Orleans by this name. She compared the easy-going way of life there to the hurried pace of life in New York City.

In 1970, James Conaway wrote a crime novel called “The Big Easy.” The story was set in New Orleans. In 1987, that book was made into a film which made the nickname even more popular.

New Orleans has other nicknames. One of them is “The Crescent City.” During the 19th century, new neighborhoods expanded out from what is now known as the French Quarter. These areas followed the great curve of the Mississippi River, giving New Orleans the shape of a crescent.