all-city

adj. especially among graffiti writers, citywide. In the phrase go all-city, to emblazon a tag or message throughout an urban area. Subjects: New York City, English, Slang

Editorial Note: A related term is the verb king. Thanks to Barry Popik for his work on the term.

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Citations: 1984 Martha Cooper, Henry Chalfant Subway Art (July) p. 50 @ (Sept. 15, 1988): A crew, according to T-Kid, “is a unit of dudes who work together to achieve a goal: to get up and to go all city.” 1992 Jimmy Breslin Newsday (Long Island, New York) (May 17) “Wildest Dream Within Reach” p. 2: He played point guard for Springfield Gardens High, which is where Mason attended. “This year I’m going All-City.” 1995 [PJUF] Usenet: alt.graffiti (Feb. 19) “Re: Yet again, the FINAL sXe response”: But the truth is, ill give more respect to an all city bomber that to someone like hex. 1998 Richard Goldsten Village Voice (New York City) (Jan. 20) “Generation Graf” p. 59: Zero tolerance has produced mass scratching, in the quest to hit trains in every borough, a feat known as going “all-city.” 2001 Bomb the Suburbs (Mar. 6) “William Upski Wimsatt” p. 115: Other cities would laugh at the idea of having all-city meetings.…But the people who criticize all-city writer’s meetings haven’t been to one in a while. 2001 Nancy McDonald The Graffiti Subculture (July 22) p. 77: Writers may start “getting up” locally, but to really taste rewards, their target area should be expanded and their name should be seen in many different regions of the city or underground/subway system. Writers who manage this are labelled “up” or “all city.”…His/her aim lies in securing the title of “king.” This is a prestigious award given to the writer that is considered to be “all city.” 2006 MICO New York (July 10) “Graffiti in Its Own Words”: In 1971, I was in the Sheepshead Bay layups one night—that’s the tunnel where trains rest in between rush hours. And we found the names of PAN 144, COCO 144, and ACE 137 on some of the cars. The paint was still wet. That opened our eyes to going all-city.

Posted 29 Jun 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

The Sheepshead layup is NOT a “tunnel,” it’s an outdoor layup where trains are laid up in between rush hours.

MICO

by MICO ~as~ LATIN PRIDE! 24 Nov 06, 0752 GMT

I never said “PAN 144.” There was no such Writer. What I said was TAN 144.

MICO

by MICO ~as~ LATIN PRIDE! 19 Jul 08, 1225 GMT