dominicanyork

What it means

1. 1.

   A Dominican who lives in New York, or who has come back from it — and, as often, the manner that goes with it: the accent full of English, the clothes, the spending on a two-week visit.

2. 2.

   Used on the island it is frequently a jab at someone showing off. Used in Washington Heights by the people it describes, it is a straight statement of identity.

Examples with translations

• Llegaron lo' dominicanyork y subieron lo' precio' en el colmado.

  The New York crowd arrived and the corner shop put its prices up.

• Soy dominicanyork, nacida en Quisqueya Heights.

  I'm a Dominican New Yorker, born in Quisqueya Heights.

  Note: Quisqueya Heights is the local name for Washington Heights, from Quisqueya, the Taíno name for the island.

Where it comes from

Coined on the island during the mass migration of the 1970s and 80s, originally with a sharp edge — the returnee was assumed to have money of dubious origin. The insult has worn down as the diaspora has become too large and too present to sneer at, but it has not disappeared.

First attested: 1970s

Other forms

Spellings and variants:

dominicanyol