Plain vanilla

{{Short description|Expression and metaphor}}

Plain vanilla is an adjective describing the simplest version of something, without any optional extras, basic or ordinary,{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|plain vanilla}} in analogy with the common ice cream flavour vanilla, which became widely and cheaply available with the development of artificial vanillin flavour.{{cite book |first1=Katri |last1=Hilden |first2=Tim |last2=Robinson |first4=Emma |last4=Hutchinson |last3=Currie |title=Iced: 180 Very Cool Concoctions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=02YG2aTL89MC |accessdate=4 April 2013 |year=2006 |publisher=Murdoch Books |isbn=978-1-74045-818-4 |first3=Lee |page=15 |quote=Vanilla has become a synonymous with 'plain'- perhaps most vanilla ice cream is flavoured with fake vanilla extract |url-status=live |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140101002243/http://books.google.com/books?id=02YG2aTL89MC |archivedate=1 January 2014 }}

Certain financial instruments, such as put options or call options, are often described as plain vanilla options. The opposite of plain vanilla options are exotic options.Plain vanilla on [http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/plainvanilla.asp#axzz1bK07Gcd5 www.investopedia.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521230407/http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/plainvanilla.asp |date=2008-05-21 }}