Valley of Ashes (now Flushing Meadows Corona Park)
F. Scott's Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby (1922) described the "Valley of Ashes." This was the Corona Dump in Queens. In 1936, the Corona Dump was cleared to prepare for…
Nicknames/Slogans
Valluco
"Valluco" means someone (usually of Mexican heritage) from the Rio Grande Valley. "Valluco" is a blend of the words "valley" and "pachuco" (a form of…
Value Investing (Value Investor)
"Value investing" is the investment theory where a "value investor" seeks to buy a security that is undervalued at its current market price. Benjamin Graham (1894-1976) and…
Vampire REO
"Monsters of the Housing Market: Vampire REOs and Zombie Foreclosures" by Daren Blomquist appeared on RealtyTrac on October 2, 2013. An REO ("real estate owned") is a property…
Vampire Squid (Goldman Sachs nickname)
Matt Taibbi wrote in Rolling Stone of Jul 13, 2009: "The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a…
Vanilla (plain or ordinary)
Vanilla is the most popular flavor of ice cream, so lots of people must like it. "Plain vanilla," however, is something that is basic, standard, and perhaps also drab and dull. As late as…
VanillaISIS or Vanilla ISIS (vanilla + ISIS)
Entry in progress -- B.P. Similar terms include Y'all Qaeda" and "Yeehawdist." Wikipedia: Islamic State of Iraq and the LevantThe Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, IPA…
Vanity Address
A "vanity address" is an address that the building owner requests from the borough president's office. In Manhattan, for example, a Fifth Avenue address might sound better than a…
Vaporize (money that vanishes)
Money that is "vaporized" is money that has vanished, probably never return. The financial firm of MF Global declared bankruptcy on October 31, 2011; it was reported that client funds had…
Variety
The show business newspaper Variety began in New York City in 1905. However, the word "variety" (show business meaning) also comes from New York City. I've been trying to verify the…
Variety Meats
"Variety meats" (almost always in the plural, but sometimes written as "variety meat") are also known as 'offal" -- parts of slaughtered animals that are often thrown…
Vatican of Saloons (P. J. Clarke’s nickname)
P. J. Clarke's is a saloon, established in 1884, at the corner of 915 Third Avenue and East 55th Street in Manhattan. The New York (NY) Times did a profile of bartender Doug Quinn (who started…
Vaticanista (Vatican correspondent)
"Vaticanista" is an Italian word meaning a news correspondent in Vatican City who reports on the Holy See. The term "Vaticanista" (also "vaticanista") usually appears…
Vaudeville
"Variety" had been the name for what became known as "vaudeville" in the United States. (See the entry for "variety" here.) A citation below claims that George Lederer…
Vax Bouncer or Vaccine Bouncer or Vaxx Bouncer
The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic resulted in some mandates, such as vaccination requirements to enter restaurants and indoor entertainments. Some of these establishments hired a "vaccine…
Vaxassinate (vaccine/vaccinate + assassinate)
The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic resulted in vaccines, but many people believed that the vaccines were dangerous. The terms "vaxassinate" (vaccine/vaccinate + assassinate) and…
Vaxassination (vaccine/vaccination + assassination)
The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic resulted in vaccines, but many people believed that the vaccines were dangerous. The terms "vaxassinate" (vaccine/vaccinate + assassinate) and…
Vaxdemic (vaccine + epidemic/pandemic)
The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic resulted in rushed vaccines. Many people were more fearful of harm from the vaccines, and that this would cause a "vaxdemic" (vaccine +…
Vaxie or Vaxxie (vaccine/vaccination selfie)
The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic resulted in vaccines. People took vaccine/vaccination selfies, which were dubbed a "vaxxie" (or, less frequently, "vaxie"). "Nothing…
Vaxism or Vacism or Vaccism or Vaxxism
The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic resulted in vaccines, but many people refused to take the vaccines. "Vacism" (or "vaccism," "vaxism," "vaxxism") is…