The City College
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
An old irony. Newgate. The City of Bells. Strasburg. The City of Brotherly Love. A somewhat ironical, but quite etymological, nickname of Philadelphia (Gr. Philadelphia means "broth- erly love").
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The City College” mean?
An old irony. Newgate. The City of Bells. Strasburg. The City of Brotherly Love. A somewhat ironical, but quite etymological, nickname of Philadelphia (Gr. Philadelphia means "broth- erly love").
Is “The City College” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.