Big Easy — The Nickname's Origin

Nobody knows for certain where 'The Big Easy' came from. The most credible theory traces it to jazz musicians in the early 1900s who used the phrase to describe New Orleans as an easy city to find work — compared to New York's 'Big Apple,' where competition was fierce. The nickname didn't become widely known until Betty Guillaud's newspaper column in the 1970s and the 1987 Dennis Quaid film. Locals rarely use the phrase themselves. It's a visitor's name for a city that has never been easy at all.