noun phrase

A noticeably long or indefinite amount of time, especially in phrases such as it’s been a minute.

““I haven’t been back to that block in a minute.””

New York’s posted street-cleaning parking rule requiring vehicles to move from one side of a street during specified days and times.

““I have to move the car before alternate-side parking starts.””

A Jewish food shop specializing traditionally in foods eaten with dairy, such as smoked fish, cream cheese, salads, bagels, and related items.

““We stopped at the appetizing store for lox, cream cheese, and bagels.””

Stairs.

“I left it at the top of the apples and pears.”

A hot breakfast sandwich—often ordered on a roll, bagel, or hero—that is a staple of New York bodegas, delis, and carts.

““Bacon, egg and cheese on a roll, toasted.””

A cake-like round cookie topped with two halves of vanilla and chocolate fondant or icing.

““Grab a black-and-white cookie from the bakery counter.””

A service pattern in which two or more buses on the same route arrive close together after delays disrupt their planned spacing.

““After a twenty-minute wait, three buses arrived together because of bunching.””

A simple hard roll or kaiser-style roll split and spread with butter, commonly bought as an inexpensive New York breakfast with coffee.

““He grabbed a buttered roll and coffee from the cart before the train.””

A halal-cart platter of seasoned chicken served over rice, commonly with salad and a choice of sauces.

““Chicken over rice, white sauce and a little hot sauce.””

A licensed mobile food cart selling quick breakfast items such as coffee, tea, rolls, pastries, bagels, and egg sandwiches, especially near offices and transit stops.

““The coffee cart by the station already knows her morning order.””

A transfer between trains that stop on opposite sides of the same platform, avoiding stairs or a long walk through the station.

““At the next stop, make a cross-platform transfer to the express.””

Phone.

“Give me a ring on the dog and bone.”

An apartment building with staff stationed near the entrance to receive visitors, manage access, assist residents, and often accept deliveries.

““The package is waiting downstairs in the doorman building.””

A premium commuter bus service connecting outer-borough or regional neighborhoods with major Manhattan destinations using fewer stops and longer-distance routing.

““She takes the express bus from Staten Island into Midtown.””

A subway train that skips selected local stations to serve a smaller set of major stops more quickly.

““The express skips our stop, so get off and take the local.””

Buying groceries, a regional expression many New Yorkers use where speakers elsewhere might say grocery shopping.

““I have to do food shopping before the storm.””

An apartment at or partly below street level, often in a townhouse or brownstone, with direct access to a rear yard or garden.

““The garden apartment opens directly onto the backyard.””

A square or rectangular slice of relatively thin, crisp pan pizza associated with New York and Long Island Italian-American cooking.

““Give me one grandma slice and one plain slice.””

A street-food cart serving food prepared to meet halal requirements, often including rice platters, gyros, and sandwiches.

““There’s a halal cart on the corner with a long lunch line.””

A limited-equity cooperative organized through a Housing Development Fund Corporation, often with income, resale, occupancy, or governance restrictions.

““The HDFC co-op has an income cap for purchasers.””

A competitive application process used for certain income-restricted or affordable housing opportunities in New York City.

““We submitted the Housing Connect application before the deadline.””

A hero sandwich typically layered with Italian-style cured meats, cheese, vegetables, and an oil-and-vinegar-style dressing on a long roll.

““Make it an Italian hero with hot peppers and everything on it.””

A bus service that skips selected local stops to provide faster travel along part or all of a route.

““Take the limited-stop bus if it serves your cross street.””

A subway train that stops at the local stations along its route rather than skipping them for faster service.

““Switch to the local for the next two stops.””

A chicken-based soup served with dumplings made primarily from matzo meal, eggs, fat, and seasonings.

““We split a pastrami sandwich and ordered matzo ball soup.””

A person born in New York City or, in some uses, someone born and raised in the city or state of New York.

““He is a native New Yorker who grew up in the Bronx.””

A recognized transit connection that requires leaving one fare-controlled station area and entering another separate station.

““That connection is an out-of-system transfer, so follow the street signs.””

The elevated main entertaining floor of a townhouse or brownstone, typically reached by the front stoop and known for higher ceilings and formal rooms.

““The restored parlor floor has tall windows facing the street.””

A classic Jewish deli sandwich of sliced, seasoned, cured, and smoked pastrami served on rye bread, commonly with mustard.

““They split a pastrami on rye and a bowl of soup.””

A bicycle lane separated from moving motor traffic by parking, barriers, islands, posts, or another physical buffer.

““Use the protected bike lane instead of riding in general traffic.””

A long, narrow apartment whose rooms connect in a line, often requiring passage through one room to reach the next.

““The bedroom is at the back of the railroad apartment.””

A small layered Italian-American almond cake confection, usually colored red, white or yellow, and green, joined with jam and coated in chocolate.

““Add a half pound of rainbow cookies to the bakery box.””

In traditional New York deli and coffee-cart ordering, brewed coffee prepared with milk or cream and sugar rather than served black.

““Large regular coffee, please.””

The busiest commuting period, especially weekday mornings and late afternoons or evenings when transit and roads carry heavy peak-direction demand.

““The platform gets packed during the evening rush hour.””

A temporary alteration to a subway, bus, or rail route, schedule, stop pattern, platform, or operating plan.

““Check the service change before you head downtown this weekend.””

A thick, pan-baked square pizza slice with an airy bread-like crust, widely sold in New York neighborhood pizzerias.

““The Sicilian slice is thicker than the regular slice.””

A temporary protective structure built over a sidewalk to shield pedestrians and property from overhead hazards during construction, demolition, or façade work.

““The storefront remained open under the sidewalk shed.””

The subway system or a particular subway service, referred to in ordinary conversation simply as the train.

““I’ll take the train and meet you downtown.””

Wife.

“I’m meeting the trouble and strife after work.”