Bridge and tunnel explained

Bridge and Tunnel (often abbreviated B&T or BNT) is a term – often used pejoratively – to describe people who live in communities surrounding the island of Manhattan in New York City, and commute to it for work or entertainment. It refers to the fact that vehicular travel to the island of Manhattan requires passing over a bridge or through a tunnel. Some use it to describe residents of the other four boroughs of New York City  - Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island  - but it typically refers to those who travel into the city from outside the area served by the New York City Subway (thus by car), including the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, Connecticut and Long Island.

Etymology

Though the term originates from the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, it has come to encompass all people who commute from outside of New York City proper, including Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, and the Hudson Valley. The Oxford Dictionaries explains that a bridge-and-tunnel person is one who lives in the suburbs and is perceived as unsophisticated.[1] However, this is sometimes also used as allusion to New York City's vast transportation system.[2]

Origin

The earliest known instance of this phrase in print is the December 13, 1977, edition of The New York Times:[3]

Comparisons

"Bridge and tunnel" was later adopted in San Francisco in reference to party-goers who live outside San Francisco,[4] as a reference to this original usage. 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. Residents from the East Bay typically drive or take a bus 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 the Robin Williams Tunnel.

In Southern California, the term "909er" (a reference to area code 909) has come to have a similar, derogatory meaning for people coming from areas inland of Los Angeles, Orange County, and Riverside County, which historically had the 909 area code.

In Southern Ontario, the term "905er" (a reference to Area Code 905) has come to have a similar meaning for the suburb area surrounding Toronto-proper, including areas such as York Region, Pickering, and Oshawa.

In popular culture

Book publishing

Film

Gaming

Music

Television

Theater

See also

Notes and References

  1. News: Oxford Dictionaries. bridge-and-tunnel. https://web.archive.org/web/20120718223259/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/bridge-and-tunnel. dead. July 18, 2012. 23 June 2013.
  2. Web site: Grynbaum . Michael M. . Are You a Bridge or a Tunnel? . City Room . 2010-12-08 . 2015-12-03.
  3. Web site: Nemy . Enid . To Be Thin, Beautiful and Cheek-to-Jowl . The New York Times . 1977-12-14 . 2015-12-03.
  4. News: San Francisco Examiner. About his narcissistic helpless universe. Sonny Smith. 2008-09-30.
  5. She Said, page 108 (2019), Penguin Press, New York
  6. http://www.focusfeatures.com/mediaroom/video/greenberg_berlin_press_conference focusfeatures.com
  7. Web site: Here It Is: Sun Kil Moon's Song "War on Drugs: Suck My Cock". Minsker. Evan. Pitchfork Media. October 7, 2014. October 28, 2014.
  8. Web site: Mr. Bridge and Tunnel on the Starlight Express. Genius. en. 2018-08-01.

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