| The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. 2002. |
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| Chicago |
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| Largest city in Illinois; located on Lake Michigan. | 1 |
| ‡ Originally called the “Windy City” because the city bragged about the 1893 World Expo that was held there. The term has since come to refer to the strong northern winds that blow off the lake in the winter. | 2 |
| ‡ For many years the second largest city in the United States, before being displaced by Los Angeles, and therefore referred to as the “Second City.” | 3 |
| ‡ During the time of Prohibition, Chicago was controlled by gangsters, Al Capone being the most notorious. Gangster warfare continued long after this particularly violent period. | 4 |
| ‡ Carl Sandburg, in his poem “Chicago,” called the city the “Hog Butcher for the World” because of Chicago’s heavy involvement in the meat-packing industry. | 5 |
| ‡ Chicago’s downtown is referred to as the “Loop” because it is enclosed by elevated railways, called the “El.” | 6 |
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| | | The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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