why is new york called the big apple?

Answer 1

It’s a translation error that originally led to the use of the term the ‘Big Apple’

'Manzana' in Spanish means amongst other things apple, and a city block. So a big block of buildings, such as can be seen in New York, would be gran manzana, which would then be re-translated incorrectly as big apple.

The fact that this term was then re-used by horse-racing commentators and Jazz musicians is neither here nor there, the question is about where the term came from, not how it passed into popular usage.

Answer 2

Barry Popik at 1st citation below is very thorough about the origins of "big apple". He also lists nicknames for other cities if you're interested.

This selection is from http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-big5.htm and breaks it down pretty well. It credits the research to Barry Popik (first citation) and Gerald Cohen. "The real story is now known, as the result of a decade-long detective hunt through old newspapers by American researchers Barry Popik and Gerald Cohen. They found that the first printed evidence comes from a racing writer named John J Fitz Gerald, who wrote a regular column in the old New York Morning Telegraph that he latterly renamed Around the Big Apple. He first used it in 1921 to refer to the racetracks of New York: “The L T Bauer string is scheduled to start for ‘the big apple’ tomorrow”. He broadened the term to refer to the whole of New York in February 1924: “The Big Apple, the dream of every lad that ever threw a leg over a thoroughbred and the goal of all horsemen. There’s only one Big Apple. That’s New York”."

Answer 3

The "Big Apple" is a nickname or alternate toponym for New York City used by New Yorkers. Its popularity since the 1970s is due to a promotional campaign by the New York Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Its earlier origins are less clear.

One explanation cited by the New-York Historical Society and others is that it was first popularized by John Fitz Gerald, who first used it in his horse racing column in the New York Morning Telegraph in 1921, then further explaining its origins in his February 18, 1924 column. Fitz Gerald credited African-American stable-hands working at horseracing tracks in New Orleans:




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Apple

Answer 4

Various accounts have traced the “Big Apple” expression to
Depression-Era sidewalk apple vendors, a Harlem night
club, and a popular 1930s dance known as the “Big Apple.”
One fanciful version even links the name with a notorious
19th-century procuress! Find out lots more at the link below :)

Answer 5

Because it's a big "Metr-'apple'-is" (metropolis). It's just a play on the word.

Answer 6

Because, at it's " core ", it's really the " pits ". LOL !!

Answer 7

Because it has a lot of worms and it sucks