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Certain Northwest cities and neighborhoods have nicknames that evoke strong feelings among some local residents 鈥� but none, apparently, as strong as the 鈥淔risco Effect鈥� in the city by the bay.

According to a , founder and CEO of a naming agency in San Francisco called Zinzin, locals cringe when anyone besides a tourist uses the name 鈥淔risco鈥� for San Francisco. Jurisich鈥檚 post cites all kinds of sources going back decades to back up the cringe factor, though it also details how 鈥淔risco鈥� has had a kind of weird evolution since World War II.

Earlier this week, Jurisich told 成人X站 Newsradio that no San Francisco resident better represents the struggle to come to grips with 鈥淔risco鈥� than famous newspaper columnist and author Herb Caen 鈥� who was known by many of his millions of readers, speaking of nicknames, as 鈥淢r. San Francisco.鈥�

In the 1940s, Caen wrote in his newspaper column about how good it felt to occasionally say 鈥淔risco.鈥� Then, just a few years later, in the early 1950s, Caen wrote a book called 鈥淒on鈥檛 Call It Frisco.鈥�

And then, in 1993, Jurisich says, Herb Caen summed up his own Frisconian evolution in one of his columns 鈥� just four years before he passed away.

鈥�’Adolescence is believing that 鈥楩risco鈥� is a racy nickname for a city. Senility is automatically saying, 鈥楧on’t call it Frisco.鈥� Maturity is figuring out that it doesn’t matter all that much,鈥欌�� Jurisich said, quoting directly from Caen鈥檚 head-spinning column.

Fortunately, maturity has never been a barrier when it comes to 鈥淎ll Over The Map.鈥�

Also, like all good theories (or proclamations by aging columnists), there are notable exceptions. One tourist who has been getting away with saying 鈥楩risco鈥� in a non-cringey way since 1967 is the late Otis Redding, who famously left his

In listening to Jurisich and reading his blog post (and clicking on the links to all those earlier sources), it鈥檚 clear that there鈥檚 no 鈥淔risco鈥� equivalent for the name 鈥淪eattle.鈥�

鈥淎ll Over The Map鈥� is certainly no Herb Caen, but it should also be clear to anyone that Seatown, Freeattle, Jet City, Emerald City, or any other term of endearment or derision just hasn鈥檛 stuck to the seat of the county named for Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

On the neighborhood level, one local nickname whose evolution many have witnessed firsthand over the past few decades is 鈥淪odo.鈥� That name dates to 1991, when plans were announced to convert the old Sears building 鈥� currently home to Starbucks 鈥� to an office complex called 鈥淪ODO Center.鈥�

If you guessed that 鈥淪ODO鈥� originally stood for 鈥淪outh of Downtown,鈥� you would be wrong. (I was too.) It actually originally stood for 鈥淪outh of the Dome鈥� for the old Kingdome.听 Throughout the 1990s, many locals will recall hearing others use the word 鈥淪odo鈥� and then feeling embarrassed for the obvious recent transplant who was saying it. Most locals called that part of Seattle the 鈥淚ndustrial Area鈥� in the before times, but it seems that 鈥淪odo鈥� is actually here to stay, and perhaps (if a Twitter poll is correct) not even cringe-inducing anymore.

While not as intense as the “Frisco Effect” for San Franciscans (discussed today on and ), which of these nicknames for Pac NW communities/neighborhoods is the cringiest for you?

鈥� Feliks Banel (@FeliksBanel)

Cursory research did not reveal the origins of other triggering nicknames such as 鈥淭-Town鈥� for Tacoma, 鈥淲est Edge鈥� for First and Second Avenue in downtown Seattle, or 鈥淯ptown鈥� for Lower Queen Anne (though the old movie theatre across the street from Dick鈥檚 seems like the original landmark called 鈥淯ptown鈥� in that area 鈥� followed by Uptown Espresso). Astute readers will note that these particular nicknames are different from an earlier exploration of local 鈥済eographic insults.鈥�

Incidentally, the name of the beloved Frisko Freeze drive-in hamburger restaurant in Tacoma was, going back more than 30 years, inspired by Seattle Rainiers鈥�听 baseball broadcaster Leo Lassen. Frisko Freeze founder Perry Smith heard Lassen calling a game on the radio against the San Francisco Seals, and Lassen said the team was from 鈥淔risco.鈥� Changing the 鈥渃鈥� to a 鈥渒鈥� was a way to make the T-Town eatery鈥檚 name unique.

The final word on the Frisco Effect comes from Jay Jurisich who, by the way, says he hates the nickname 鈥淪an Fran鈥� but likes using the initials 鈥淪F.鈥�

鈥�’Frisco is dead. Long live Frisco,鈥欌�� Jurisich said. 鈥淭hat would be my tagline. That’s perfect.鈥�

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast听here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.