El, el
(ɛl)
colloq. U.S. abbrev. of elevated railroad; el train = elevated train (elevated ppl. a. 1).
| a 1906 ‘O. Henry’ Trimmed Lamp (1916) 120 Behold Ikey as he ambles up the street beneath the roaring ‘El’ between the rows of reeking sweatshops. 1932 E. Wilson Devil take Hindmost xii. 126 Irma Meyer lives under the El [in Brooklyn]. 1936 J. Dos Passos Big Money ii. 9 An el train clattered raspingly through the..streets. 1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 6 Nov. p. xvii/4 John Frederick Nims has a poem ‘Penny Arcade’, set in Chicago, which begins with a description of ‘This pale and dusty palace under the El’. |