Bridge and tunnel
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Bridge and tunnel (often abbreviated B&T) is a disparaging neologism for people who travel to Manhattan Island from surrounding communities, a commute that requires passing over a bridge and/or through a tunnel.
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[edit] Etymology
Though the name originates from the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, which services the five boroughs that make up New York City, the term has come to encompass all people who originate from outside of Manhattan, including the four "outer boroughs" of Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island, as well as Westchester County, Long Island and New Jersey.
[edit] Origin
The earliest known instance of this phrase in print is the December 13, 1977, edition of the New York Times[citation needed]:
- "On the weekends, we get all the bridge and tunnel people who try to get in," he said.
- Elizabeth Fondaras, a pillar of the city’s conservative social scene, who has just told Steve Rubell she had never tried to get into Studio 54 for fear of being rejected, asked who the bridge and tunnel people were.
- "Those people from Queens and Staten Island and those places," he said.
[edit] Comparisons
"Bridge and tunnel" was later adopted in San Francisco in reference to party-goers who live outside San Francisco,[1][2][3] as an ironic reference to this original usage, although the term is not always derogatory.[4] Residents of the Peninsula and South Bay take commuter trains (Caltrain or BART, each of which has several tunnels) and freeways (I-280 and US 101, which do not) to visit city hot-spots but do not actually live in San Francisco (c.f. a resident of Yonkers out in Manhattan). Residents from the East Bay typically drive across the Bay Bridge (and Yerba Buena Tunnel) to reach San Francisco, or take BART through the Transbay Tube. The commute into San Francisco from Marin County also involves a bridge (the Golden Gate) and tunnel (Waldo).
In Southern California, the term "909er" (a reference to Area Code 909) has come to have a similar, derogatory meaning for the inland areas of Los Angeles and Orange County.
[edit] References in popular culture
- Less Than Jake, a ska punk band, wrote a song called "Bridge and Tunnel Authority," which appeared on their album B is for B-sides.
- Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders recorded a song called "Bridge and Tunnel Girls" on his album People's Republic of Rock and Roll.
- The Honorary Title, a New York rock band, released a song called "Bridge and Tunnel" as a single from their 2004 album Anything Else but the Truth.
- In the musical version of The Wedding Singer, the song Saturday Night In The City makes a reference to the "bridge and tunnel crowd".
- Bridge & Tunnel is the title of a 2006 critically-acclaimed, Tony Award-winning Broadway play
- Bridge and Tunnel is also a Huntington Station, New York punk band on No Idea records.
- In "Lucky Penny," an episode of How I Met Your Mother, Barney Stinson brags about having sex in public, saying he should give a call to his "bridge and tunnel girl," later expressing confusion when his friends assume this refers to where she lives rather than where their encounters took place.
- In Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Norah makes a reference to Nick being Bridge and Tunnel though Caroline says he isn't.
[edit] References
- ^ "Badlands". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/eguide/music/barguide/gay.shtml.
- ^ Sonny Smith (2008-09-30). "About his narcissistic helpless universe". San Francisco Examiner.
- ^ "Avant Garde". Nitevibe. 2005-08-30. http://www.nitevibe.com/buzz/nitevibe_buzz198.htm.
- ^ Paul Liberatore (2008-09-22). "Young teacher uses art to help youths tap own voices". Marin Independent Journal. http://www.marinij.com/lifestyles/ci_10534025.
