vign.
/vɪɡ/, U.S. /vɪɡ/ U.S. slang.
1. A percentage deducted from a gambler's winnings or bets by a bookmaker, casino, etc., as a cut; = vigorish n. 1.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [noun] > percentage deducted from winnings
vigorish1912
vig1963
1963 N.Y. Times 1 Oct. (Late City ed.) 28/2 The bookmaker's advantage, known as ‘vigorish’ or ‘vig’, equals the amount taken out of pari-mutuel pools at the track before the remainder is split among holders of winning tickets.
1975 M. Goodman & M. J. Goodman Your Best Bet 159 If the second 4 hits, then bet $70 (vig $3.50).
1993 S. Turow Pleading Guilty (1994) iii. xii. 182 Bookie makes 10 percent vig on your bet.
2007 Philadelphia Inquirer (Nexis) 25 Feb. m3 I won the NFL football pool, too, which impresses people no end until I confess that this was done with the assistance of my late Uncle Al and my late Uncle Al's bookie. Better still, I didn't have to pay vig to the latter.
2. Interest on a loan; esp. an unreasonably or excessively high rate of interest, typically charged by a usurer; = vigorish n. 2.
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1968 N.Y. Times 6 June 41 Earlier, Marcus said he did receive two $100 bills given to him by Mr. Motto... ‘But that was for “vig” on a loan we got from Motto, and Corallo had told Motto to pay the “vig” back.’
1976 R. B. Parker Promised Land (1977) iii. 14 Hawk..spilled out how much you owed and how far behind you were on the vig and when you had to pay it by.
1986 S. Churcher N.Y. Confidential xii. 280 You won't be able to keep up the vig.
2003 Daily News (N.Y) (Nexis) 7 Dec. (News section) 39 Malnik is also owner of Title Loans of America, a national chain that lends money legally at annual percentage rates reaching 264%—higher than most loansharks' vig.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2019; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1963