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I was wondering whether it is worked on Wall Street or worked in Wall Street. I guess it is "on", I am not sure why.

Andrew Leach
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Samuel
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  • Are you asking about British English or American English? – Andrew Leach Jun 20 '20 at 15:42
  • I depends on whether it is using "Wall Street" to mean the finance industry, or the office premises happen to be on Wall Street. In UK we still use "Fleet Street" to refer to the newspaper industry, but many of them have relocated. – Weather Vane Jun 20 '20 at 15:58
  • I mean finance company located on wall street) American engish – Samuel Jun 20 '20 at 16:04
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    You can find an answer here: ON an American street, IN a British one. I'd add that "on" is pretty much universal in American English, where "in" would indicate being actually in the middle of the street. "In" is pretty general in British English, but you sometimes hear "on". For your sentence, in American English, it's "worked on Wall Street". – Isabel Archer Jun 20 '20 at 16:04
  • Thanks a lot))) – Samuel Jun 20 '20 at 16:13
  • @WeatherVane In BrE, "In Fleet Street" could mean having offices there or merely "in the newspaper industry"; we don't use on, and it's for the context to differentiate which is meant. Is it the same in AmE, with using "Wall Street" to mean the finance industry (in) as opposed to where offices are located (on)? – Andrew Leach Jun 20 '20 at 16:41
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    @AndrewLeach, to my knowledge, no one ever says " in Wall Street" in US English for any reason, except to refer to "in the middle" of the street. If you work in finance, you work" on Wall Street" (an expression that is indeed used to mean that someone works in finance). – Isabel Archer Jun 20 '20 at 16:55
  • In UK English "I work on Fleet Street" could be said by someone who worked in a coffee shop on that street. – Andy M Mar 04 '22 at 15:06
  • Google Ngrams is interesting, 'in Wall Street' appears more common up until the 1970's, and 'on Wall Street' is now predominant. Maybe the change coincides with a physical dispersal of the financial industry from its traditional heartlands. – Andy M Mar 04 '22 at 15:15

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Wall Street, in the context of this question, is a metonymn, like Hollywood, Broadway, The West End. We are referring to the financial sector based in lower Manhattan. "Worked in" is more appropriate when referring to metonyms, because you work in that particular industry but, unusually in the case of Wall Street, and Broadway "worked on" is a better fit. Maybe because they are streets. But then so is Whitehall, and politicians work in Whitehall, not on it.

Bruce Murray
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  • It could just be that 'I' had a hot dog concession on Wall Street. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 04 '22 at 17:32
  • This answer describes what we say in NYC. I suppose that it's because Wall Street and Broadway are streets, and we usually do things "on" a street, not "in" it (unless you are actually physically standing in the street). Occasionally you hear "in Wall Street", but it's no more common than nonstandard use of a preposition in any other situation. – MarcInManhattan Mar 04 '22 at 22:04