Question of the Day - 11 February 2018

The term "George" for a big tipper comes, simply, from the George whose mug fronts the one-dollar bill. As in, a big tipper hands out so many dollar bills that he might as well be Washington himself.

And yes, there are levels of Georges. An inordinately big tipper has always been "big George," or sometimes "super George," "monster George," or "king George." The biggest of the big? That’s "King Kong George." Famous examples of Georges include the late Aussie media tycoon Kerry Packer, Frank Sinatra, Richard Pryor, and Elvis, and Ben Affleck, who we should note is very much alive.

The (printable) opposite of a George is a "stiff." ("Stiff" is also a verb, as is when you stiff a waitperson after eating.) Celebrities known to fall into this category include Pete Rose, Bill Cosby, O.J. Simpson, Bruce Willis, and Bill Gates.

As for a super George, there's a good example in Whale Hunt in the Desert, our book about superhost Steve Cyr. 

"Cyr's whale has a hundred $100 bills in his pocket and this is a gambler who lives to grease palms. He distributes his fun money discreetly, but everyone in his path lights up with the glow of anticipated greed fulfillment when he appears. The guy who holds the door to the elevator up to the restaurant gets a Benjamin. The maitre d' at the top of the elevator gets another. The four waitpeople who hover around the table serving him and his entourage split five of them. In the casino, the high-limit-room cocktail waitress pays close attention. He might call her over for a bottled water that she has at the ready. He might call her over just to lay a black check on her tray."

We'd say that this is qualitatively different than an ordinary big tipper. But something about casinos brings out this type of extreme behavior, especially when Georges are loaded down with casino winnings. On the flip side, of course, it also exaggerates the opposite behavior, even when the stiffs' pockets are full of casino cash.