<P> William Safire considered this the coinage, but the Random House Dictionary of American Slang has described the usage as "metaphorical or perhaps proverbial, rather than a concrete example of the later slang term". </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources . (May 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> </Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This section relies largely or entirely upon a single source . Relevant discussion may be found on the talk page . Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources . (May 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Big Apple was popularized as a name for New York City by John J. Fitz Gerald in a number of horse - racing articles for the New York Morning Telegraph in the 1920s . The earliest of these was a casual reference on 3rd May, 1921: </P>

Where did the nickname big apple come from