Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A charge taken on bets, as by a bookie or gambling establishment.
- n. The rate or amount of such a charge.
- n. Slang Interest, especially excessive interest, paid to a moneylender.
Wiktionary
- n. uncountable, slang A charge taken on bets, as by a bookie or gambling establishment.
- n. uncountable, slang The interest on a loan of money, especially for loans made by a usurer or loan shark.
- n. countable, slang An amount owed on account of or payment of a bookie's charge or of interest.
WordNet 3.0
- n. an exorbitant or unlawful rate of interest
- n. a percentage (of winnings or loot or profit) taken by an operator or gangster
Etymologies
- From Yiddish slang, from the Russian выигрыш (vyigrysh, "winnings"). (Wiktionary)
- Yiddish slang, from Russian vyigrysh, winnings : vy-, out; + igrat', to play. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“But maybe that 3.6% is the "vigorish" -- i.e., the house's take.”
“They earn money by charging a commission, also known as a vigorish.”
The Wall Street Journal: In Las Vegas, Odds Favor Novelty Bets
“Sports books prefer an even amount of betting on both teams to mitigate risk, because they make an additional amount (called vigorish) on losing bets.”
“The interest, or "vigorish," on whatever he'd borrowed.”
“If the loan amount was $1,000, then the borrower had to pay $50 weekly in “vigorish,” or interest, until the entire principal was repaid.”
“The extra ten percent provides the commission, which is referred to as the juice, vigorish, or vig.”
“If you are selling, the firm can buy from you for less than it could resell the security for; that vigorish is called a markdown.”
The Wall Street Journal: Will New Rules Stop Brokers From Nibbling on Your Returns?
“The lack of market transparency and efficient competition in these instruments indicates that much of the profit made in the current, "over-the-counter" market is simply vigorish extracted by the financial bookies.”
“And they keep doubling it until their vigorish almost kills the host they feed on.”
“Because the vigorish is way, way too high.allangoldstein. com”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘vigorish’.
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phrontistery-v
from phrontistery.info
vaccary, vaccimulgence, vaccine, vacillate, vadelect, vade-mecum, vadimony, vadose, vafrous, vagient, vagile, vagility and 396 more...
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The Bucolic Abattoir
Words which, when spoken, suggest something other than their real meaning.
bucolic, fungible, brouhaha, narthex, restive, inflammable, invaluable, raze, pulchritude, noisome, fatuous, terrific and 21 more...
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Words that end in "-ish" but aren't a...
embellish, flourish, garnish, rubbish, nourish, admonish, punish, finish, blemish, abolish, accomplish, parish and 41 more...
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doubtlessly reduntant
pedentive, pendentive, fantod, nonpareil, apposite, anfractuous, amanuensis, sherbet, erumpent, verdigris, styptic, tektitic and 24 more...
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Potpourri
eponymous, aa, pulchritude, gizmo, macabre, sui generis, solecism, solipsism, eldritch, samizdat, queue, obsequious and 469 more...
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SoSheShall's list
slurp, coeur, slurple, glop, perp, fluarxx, ropechno, herrherr, burrduhherrherr, sloppy, cheezie balls, eccentric and 634 more...
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kingofbash's Words
bash, poleaxed, salacious, libertine, charlatan, aplomb, fortuitous, finagle, apoplectic, debutante, carte blanche, aardvark and 472 more...
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bintalshamsa's list
My Favorite Words
weltschmerz, perspicacity, idée fixe, invigilator, salubrious, tchotchke, ex nihilo, invidious, malapropism, naïve, sardonic, elide and 1402 more...
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Infinite Jest
Words taken from Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace.
prorector, monograph, post-fourier, snuffle, rototremble, creatus, enfilade, subanimalistic, balletic, espadrilles, leonine, cirri and 1153 more...
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sionnach's Words
contumely, fomite, holmgang, poltroon, eleemosynary, obsidian, nugatory, grindcore, felch, recrudescent, pyx, parenteral and 3271 more...
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srboisvert's Words
couverture, poffertjes, naif, endermatic, prepense, aspic, otalgia, curettage,, florid, piffling, pillock, mow and 164 more...
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Words to use at the Joynt
obstreperous, calibogus, ouzo, pitcher-man, arfarfanarf, drunkensides, pyrogenesis, amphiboly, gobemouche, cacoethes, slubberdegullion, diplopic and 107 more...
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spamdad's Words
lambic, weizenbock, bock, zymurgy, vade mecum, quotidian, sesquipedalian, eremite, sphragis, privation, aegis, sui generis and 275 more...
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Native Tongue
Words from other languages that have become part of my own.
kagakshi, pespeyason, mskoda, potawatomi, athabaskan, waglula, fu, weemoed, solidarność, congou, darjeeling, alpe d'huez and 41 more...
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slavonicisms
English borrowings from Slavic languages; in some cases, a word might be rooted in another language but entered English from a Slavic language (e.g. nihilism was popularized by Ivan Turgenev, as ни...
ukase, vampire, knout, slave, cravat, tsar, czar, buggery, nihilism, intelligentsia, kopeck, ruble and 30 more...
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I do not think it means what you thin...
incipient, innocuous, bellicose, inflammable, belie, borborygmus, crepuscule, slatch, comprise, salubrious, pulchritude, gormless and 4 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for vigorish.
rolig This one is going on my Slavonicisms list. Oct 20, 2011
milosrdenstvi A contender for the "that suffix doesn't mean what you think it does" award, along with contumely and ruthless. Oct 20, 2011