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pounding it home

Glossary entry

English term or phrase:

in the boroughs

English answer:

(in NYC) but outside of Mahanttan

Added to glossary by Charlesp
Dec 23, 2014 12:46
9 yrs ago
2 viewers *
English term

in the boroughs

English Other Poetry & Literature
Could you explain me what the author means by "in the boroughs" in the folowing sentence:


April and I both were born in New York City— and “in the boroughs” to boot, she in the Bronx and I in Queens— and
we share a typically irreverent New York brand of humor.
Responses
5 (in NYC) but outside of Mahanttan
4 +4 the five counties that collectively form NYC
4 dans la banlieue
3 born and living in the city boroughs/districts, on top of that - she in Bronx and I in Queens
Change log

Jan 27, 2015 06:40: Charlesp Created KOG entry

Votes to reclassify question as PRO/non-PRO:

Non-PRO (1): Charlesp

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Discussion

Sheri P Dec 23, 2014:
@ Charles D That's my reading of it, too. The author is implying that "the boroughs" (= outer boroughs) are more "New York" in flavor and character than Manhattan. Many would argue that gentrification of the outer boroughs over the last several years (especially of Brooklyn) has changed this a great deal.
Jacek Kloskowski Dec 23, 2014:
Well, agreed, keep in mind that 80% or so of people you meet in Manhattan do not live there...yet if you ask them, all the working there for few years or so consider themselves New Yorkers, and I'd subscribe to that :)
Charles Davis Dec 23, 2014:
I take your point, Jack, but I was thinking along the same lines as danya. "Suburbia" is not the right word, because the outer boroughs are not suburbs (or at least not nowadays), but I've always had the impression (based on films, literature and TV) that although Manhattan is what everyone thinks of when New York is mentioned, places like Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, much poorer districts than Manhattan historically and with a much higher proportion of non-WASPs, might have a more earthy character, paradoxically more "New York", in a certain sense, than Manhattan itself.
Jacek Kloskowski Dec 23, 2014:
@danya Pleasure to hear from you. Alas, not quite - suburban areas of NYC are defined as surrounding counties (Nassau/Suffork/Westchester etc.), referred to as NYC metropolitan area, and neighboring/adjacent to the 5 mentioned boroughs/counties that belong to NYC proper. See here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_York_metropolitan_area#
danya Dec 23, 2014:
sorry for butting in I think that what the author implies is that he's a guy from "suburbia", not so [repulsively] refined as those guys from Manhattan - and that is why his humour is irreverent, and he is tougher and meaner))
Jacek Kloskowski Dec 23, 2014:
When referring to Yonkers or White Plains or even Long Island (let's say somewhere in 100-mile radius you'd say "I live in Greater New York (area)":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_New_York#
Charles Davis Dec 23, 2014:
@Sheri I wondered about that too: whether "in the boroughs" might mean in NYC proper rather than the Metropolitan Area (which is enormous, I see, by no means all of it in New York State). That could be what it's implying. Like NYC as in the boroughs, not Yonkers or the eastern counties of Long Island or Newark or somewhere like that. But I don't have the cultural antennae to judge whether people would really use the term "New York City" to refer to places like this.
Jacek Kloskowski Dec 23, 2014:
Having lived in NYC for quite a few years, I can attest that there is a slight controversy what being a "true New Yorker" really means: it's a "quarrel" between "manhattanites" and people living in other 4 boroughs (e.g. Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx and Staten Island). While administratively belonging to NYC, "manhattanites" claim that people living and born there aren't "true New Yorkers" and that NYC = "Manhattan". This is, of course, countered by inhabitants of other boroughs who simply state (like the author of the above fragment) that they are all New Yorkers through and through.
That controversy is subsiding in recent years, as most (cost of living) recently move out from Manhattan to other boroughs and just commute there to work :)
Sheri P Dec 23, 2014:
Regarding Charles D's comment to my answer I think Charles D is right that the author is referring specifically to what are often called the "outer boroughs," i.e. the four boroughs apart from Manhattan. It's a little bit ambiguous, though, because people sometimes use "New York City" to refer to the greater metropolitan area and not just to the city proper. It's possible, therefore, that the author is using "the boroughs" here to point out that (s)he and April were born in the city proper and are thus "true" New Yorkers. Just wanted to put that out there. But, the "to boot" bit especially makes me think that Charles D is correct.

Responses

4 hrs
Selected

(in NYC) but outside of Mahanttan

It refers to places in NYC other than New York County

Depending upon the context, and what else was said, it could refer to being a bit unsophisticated (as places in NYC outside of Manhattan have traditionally been considered as lesser places).
Something went wrong...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you"
2 mins

dans la banlieue

*

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 minutes (2014-12-23 12:50:01 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

ou dans les banlieues ...
Peer comment(s):
neutral Thayenga : English- :) Boen Joel
1 hr
Danke. Frohe Weihnachten für Sie zu.
neutral Charlesp : I might agree, if I knew what language that was.
3 hrs
'I wish you a Merry Christmas.' in German. 'Danke' is thank you ...
Something went wrong...
23 mins

born and living in the city boroughs/districts, on top of that - she in Bronx and I in Queens

IMO
Something went wrong...
+4
14 mins

the five counties that collectively form NYC

New York City, in the U.S. state of New York, is composed of five boroughs. They are Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Each borough has the same boundaries as a county of the state. The county governments were dissolved when the city consolidated in 1898, along with all city, town, and village governments within each county...New York City is often referred to collectively as the five boroughs...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borough_(New_York_City)


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2014-12-23 14:03:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

@ LM
I think the author has put quotes around the phrase to show that (s)he is referring to the "outer" boroughs of NYC (i.e., not Manhattan).
Note from asker:
I know that NYC is composed of five boroughs but this means that everyone born in NYC be definition comes from one of them. I wonder why the author underlines this by putting "in the boroughs" in quoutation marks.
Peer comment(s):
agree Charles Davis : I think it must mean in the boroughs outside Manhattan. If "the boroughs" referred to all five, it wouldn't make sense to say "NYC: and in the boroughs to boot", because it would be like saying NYC, and NYC to boot.
22 mins
Yes, you are right. I think the author is referring specifically to what are frequently called the "outer boroughs," i.e. the four boroughs apart from Manhattan.//I added a comment in the Disc. Box to clarify.
agree Jack Doughty
52 mins
Thank you, Jack
agree Thayenga : Merry Christmas. :)
1 hr
Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you, too :-)
agree Yvonne Gallagher : also way I read it, not Manhattan
1 hr
Thanks, Gallagy
disagree Charlesp : technically correct, as a dictionary definition. However in this context, it does not mean the five counties that collectively form NYC, but rather "places in NYC other than the New York County"
3 hrs
Yes, as I've made amply clear in the Discussion Box and in the note to my answer.
agree Phong Le
1 day 19 hrs
Thank you :-)
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