New Orleans aka the Big Easy?

Question

Why do they call NO the Big Easy?

Answer 1

The previous answers were just copied from other websites and repeat the same misinformation.

The Big Easy was a play on the Over the Road Trucker CB radio nickname of New York, the Big Apple and was frequently used during the 1960s, as the crime reporter James Conaway that wrote the novel in 1970 very well knew, as he monitored radios at the Times Picayune, the big newspaper.

Most educated New Orleanians do not like the name, just as people from NY do not call it the Big Apple and people from Boston hate Bean Town and no one but tourist say Frisco.

Answer 2

The origin of this is hard to determine. The name wasn't in common use until the publication of James Conaways' novel of the same name in 1970. Prior to that New Orleans was known as the Crescent City and some residents still prefer that nickname, viewing the Big Easy as a media-based import.

It's likely that Conaway picked up the name from existing slang. There are reports of a jazz club called the Big Easy, dating back to the early 20th century. Nevertheless, no evidence to substantiate those reports can be found. In fact, we can find no references to the term before 1970 that relate to New Orleans.

There's some link between this phrase and the Big Apple. The most plausible account of an origin for Big Apple is that it originated in the race tracks of New Orleans. It has been suggested that 'Big Easy' was coined in direct contrast to 'Big Apple', demonstrating New Orleans' more relaxed style.

The Big Easy Conaways' novel was used as the basis of a film that was released in 1987, also called Big Easy. The film, starring Dennis Quaid and Ellen Barkin, was a popular success and this was when the name came into the popular consciousness.

Answer 3

References to the Big Easy have been around for about 100 years. Around the turn of the century, when the great Buddy Bolden was the king of New Orleans jazz, the legendary musician played his cornet all over town: Rampart and Perdido streets, Uptown, the lakefront and across the river. Some people reported seeing him perform in a club called the Big Easy Hall. A dance hall called the Big Easy definitely existed in the early 1900s; some claim it was in Storyville, but others say Gretna.

In Pop Foster's autobiography, he also makes reference to a club known as the Big Easy. However, because jazz musicians often gave nicknames to people and places, the Big Easy could just as easily have referred to a dance hall, a dance or even someone who did the dance. Over the years, the nickname became associated with New Orleans as more and more people used it to refer to a city with a slow, easy pace and a relaxed attitude about almost everything.

In 1970, James Conaway, a police reporter, wrote a crime novel set in New Orleans called The Big Easy. Later, Dennis Quaid starred in a movie of the same title.

But credit seems to go to Betty Guillaud, formerly of The Times-Picayune, for making the nickname a household word. Betty had a column in the old States-Item, and in it she compared the laid-back style of New Orleans to the hurry-up pace of New York, the Big Apple. She's often given credit for popularizing the phrase "Big Easy" in the early 1970s.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
New Orleans aka the Big Easy?
Why do they call NO the Big Easy?

Answer 5

Louie, Sax, Gumbo, Chickory, Praline, Voodoo, Jazz, Marty (as in Mardi Gras), Cajun, Nolan(after New Orleans) to name a few referring to New Orleans.

Answer 6

It's trucker slang and we don't like the name.

New Orleans is The Crescent City.