Minor Nicknames
- "The White City" - Used during the time of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition.
- "Dat Killa Chi!" - Used by many Chicago Gangs
- "Da Chi & The 'Go" - Used by many popular rap musicians from the area, such as Kanye West and R. Kelly. (pronounced "duh shy" much like "Chi-town.")
- "The Chill or Chi Ill" - Also used by rap musicians from the area (Chill as in Chicago Illinois).
- "City by the Lake" - Used in the Smashing Pumpkins' song "Tonight, Tonight."
- "City of the Big Shoulders" - From "Chicago," a poem by Carl Sandburg.
- "City of Broad Shoulders" - A popular variant of "City of the Big Shoulders"
- "City of the Century."
- "The 312" - The onetime area code for Chicago and surrounding communities, which now applies only to the Loop and several immediately surrounding neighborhoods. Many rap artists refer to Chicago by this name, and many pro sports players from the Chicago area use 312 to signify their hometown. Dwyane Wade is an example: A small triangle on his shoes contains the numbers 312 in reference to his birthplace.
- "City on the Make" - From "Chicago, City on the Make" (1951), a prose poem by Nelson Algren.
- "The City That Works" - According to former Mayor Richard J. Daley.
- "The Big Onion" - An homage to the original Native name for the area (which meant "onion"), in parallel with a popular New York nickname, "The Big Apple"
- "City in a Garden" - After the motto on the seal "Urbs in Horto."
- "Hog-Butcher to the World" - From "Chicago."
- "Beirut by the Lake" - From a Wall Street Journal article during the Council Wars of the 1980s
- "New York Done Right" - Denoting that Chicago is all the good things about New York, without any of the bad things.
- "Illville" - Chicago is the largest metropolis in Illinois.
- "I Will" City - From the "I Will" Symbol.
- Chi-tizzle - Suburb phrase
- "My Kind of Town" - According to the song "My Kind of Town (Chicago Is)" (music by Jimmy Van Heusen, words by Sammy Cahn, 1964) popularized by Frank Sinatra. (Originally from the film, Robin and the Seven Hoods, about a fictional popular Chicago gangster).
- "Paris on the Prairie" - From the 1909 plan for the City of Chicago created by Daniel Burnham.
- "Sweet Home" - From the Robert Johnson song Sweet Home Chicago.
- "Heart of America" - Chicago is one of the largest transportation centers in America and its location near the center of the United States.
- "That Toddling Town" - According to the lyrics of the song "Chicago" (music and words by Fred Fisher, 1922) also popularized by Frank Sinatra (as well as Tony Bennett).
- "Ayreton" - Quasi-medieval name used by local members of the Society for Creative Anachronism.
- "Shot-Town" - People located on the southern part of Chicago call it Shot-Town because of the high numbers of homicides caused by gun shots and firearms.
- "The 773" - Chicago's second area code, and mainly used in areas outside of the "Loop."
- "The Alley Capital of America" - Chicago city blocks incorporate narrow alleys between the buildings
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kabuika 