Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Peoria n.1

[equation of the name with mainstream US orig. seen in H. Alger Five Hundred Dollars; or, Jacob Marlowe's Secret (1890). For development of phr. see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_it_play_in_Peoria%3F]

(US) used neg. to symbolize the dull banality of the quintessential US small town.

Show quotations
[US]R. Kahn Boys of Summer 92: A minor leaguer, driving toward the majors, has coaches and scouts studying him every day. The man who collapses into tremors with men on base dies, as the saying is, in Peoria.

In phrases

play in Peoria (v.) [Peoria, Illinois, as an emblematic small stop on theatrical/vaudeville tours]

to come across or succeed in rural, provincial areas.

Show quotations
M.A. Rogers ‘Rev. of Dude, Where’s My Car’ 8 Jan. at www.imdb.com 🌐 Another slight flaw is that Dude sometimes plays like a vanity project—especially during scenes like the rap music video. It just didn’t work within the context of the film, and seemed like it was there just because Kutcher and Scott have always wanted to do a video. Whether that’s true or not, that’s the way it plays in Peoria.
[US]Rocky Mountain News 17 Sept. 🌐 The opening show probably was a hot topic around water coolers and bourbon bars Monday in the nation’s capital, where political intrigue is on the conversation menu day and night. How such a nonfiction drama will play in Peoria and other parts of the HBO universe is still to be determined.
[US]Salon.com 30 Apr. 🌐 ‘The Bush economy doesn’t play in Peoria.’ The president says a big tax cut for the rich will create jobs for the hard-hit middle class. In this city of faded glory, few believe him.