A link to the Dialect Blog

That Benny’s Shoe Store has got to be an etymythology. It’s probably related to the etymology for Shoobies, the Bennies from Philly. This post reminded me of the On Language article from a couple of years ago, where Ben Zimmer tackled the two terms. Here’s the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/magazine/08FOB-onlanguage-t.html

I first heard the term “benny” in the newspaper.  If it is a live term, I expect it got its second life from news reports.  There is some normal resentment of tourists on the Jersey shore that you see in any resort community.  I remember lifeguards referring to tourists as “pay-trons”.

Like ”grockles” in Torquay.

I never heard of Bennies until 1984 when some guys at work (in Kenilworth, exit 138) were theorizing the origin came from the well-known Club Bene on Route 35 in Sayreville.  I didn’t really see a connection.  Years later when my parents retired to Ocean County in the mid-90’s my father started complaining about Bennies. He’s originally from Atlantic City but raised a family of annual shore-goers in North Jersey, and I believe he picked up the term in his golden years.

As a largely irrelevant sidenote, in Australia “bennies” are people on welfare (beneficiaries).

I first heard the term “benny” in the newspaper.  If it is a live term, I expect it got its second life from news reports.

That may be true today. I recall a conversation two Christmases ago with relatives still living in the area (Claire, Cory, Ania, and, a friend of Carl and Claire’s) and the conclusion was that benny was chiefly known among the older generation. The kids knew the term, but didn’t use it much. I’ve seen it in recent vintage news articles too. But the term was very much alive and kicking when I worked on the boardwalk in the 1980s. And I also recall it being common growing up.

Quick proofreading note:

It could by from a New York term meaning “Jew,” ...

It could be from ...