Expanding my vocabulary

Today we enjoyed a late lunch in downtown Phoenix. Based on a referral (for once, not Tripadvisor), we went to The VIG on Fillmore. So, I wanted to know more about the name. Given that it's on Fillmore, that part was easy, but I wondered about the "VIG" part. I tried a few variations in my head, but eventually asked the bartender.

Pixabay (Geralt) - Creative Commons License

His answer was that, "of course", vig was the short form for vigorish. Well there was no "of course" about it for me. Not knowing the word it had sounded like vigorous to me, so that didn't enlighten me. Here's the Apple dictionary definition:

vigorish |ˈvigəriSH| nounUS informal 1 [ in sing. ] an excessive rate of interest on a loan, typically one from an illegal moneylender.2 the percentage deducted from a gambler's winnings by the organizers of a game.ORIGIN early 20th cent.: probably from Yiddish, from Russian vyigrysh ‘gain, winnings.’
He did go on to explain its meaning to us. When I asked if one of the properties had been linked to any such activities, he said no. I checked the website to see if there was an explanation of how the name came about, but no luck there. So, did they perhaps borrow their start-up money from a loan shark, or were they involved in gambling perhaps? I guess I'll never know!

More pretty spring blossoms

We loved our meals, and our server was just the best. We were between usual mealtimes, so the place was quiet. So, as often happens, we got into the story of our travels and, being a dog lover, she thought it was the greatest thing. Out came her phone with photos of her dog (named Bob), and her sister's dog; she was so much fun. I was about to ask how she chose her dog's name when she was called away to serve others. Yet another mystery.

The bonus at the end of our great meal was that it was happy hour, so the drink prices were really low, and Greg's meal was half price. Now that was fortuitous!