A nickname for New York City, originally used by Washington Irving. Also refers to the fictional city that is Batman's home in DC Comics.
From Gotham, a village in Nottinghamshire, England, known in medieval folklore for its wise fools who pretended to be simple to avoid King John's taxes. Irving used it satirically for New York in 1807, implying New Yorkers were either fools or pretending to be fools.
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