Operation Twist (Operation Nudge)
The Federal Reserve's "Operation Nudge" (cited in print from April 9, 1961) was renamed "Operation Twist" (cited in print from August 20, 1963), after a song and dance…
Hamburger with everything; Hot Dog with everything; Pizza with everything
A food with "everything" means with lots of additions piled onto it. This post is based on the work of Ben Zimmer and his September 20, 2011 Language Log article, "Shel Silverstein…
Fatal Drugs Allowed (Food and Drug Administration or FDA nickname)
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is part of the Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for food safety, drug safety and other issues. The unflattering FDA nickname…
Burger King Kids
An executive at JPMorgan Chase & Company dubbed some of his young new hires "Burger King kids" (after the fast food restaurant), according to the New York (NY) Times of October 13,…
JPig (JPMorgan Chase nickname)
"JPig" or "JPIG" is an unflattering nickname for the banking firm JPMorgan Chase & Co. The bank is partly named after financier John Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913).…
Teatanic (tea party + Titanic)
"Teatanic" or "TEAtanic" (tea party + Titanic) is a term used by those who believe that the tea party's politics is a disaster (like the sinking of the RMS Titanic). The…
Throw Red Meat at the Political Base (reward hard-core supporters)
A zoo or a circus often feeds red meat to its large animals, such as lions and tigers. In politics, a "red meat" issue is one that a particular constituency strongly supports. A…
Great Reckoning
The financial term "Great Reckoning" was popularized by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg in their book, The Great Reckoning: How the world will change in the depression of the…
“Gold’s father is dirt, yet it regards itself as noble”
"Gold's father is dirt, yet it regards itself as noble" is listed as a Yiddish proverb on many websites. The saying means that, regardless of birth, one can make something of…
“Entrepreneurs work only half-days—12 hours”
Entrepreneurs of small businesses often work very long hours. The old joke is that they work only half-days -- twelve hours. (The joke being that half of a 24-hour day is twelve hours, but one…
“Mountain lion in Texas” (joke)
A "mountain lion in Texas" joke is told of a mountain lion who ate Texans, but still didn't have enough to eat. The mountain lion would scare the crap and then knock the wind out of…
“The price of gold is understood by exactly two people in the entire world—and they disagree”
A popular banking anecdote has Baron Rothschild saying that only two men in the entire world understand gold, money and the financial system. One man is a director of the Bank of England and the…
“What’s the difference between musicians and government bonds?” (joke)
It's an old joke that musicians and other entertainers usually don't make much money: Q: What's the difference between musicians and government bonds?A: Government bonds will…
“If all your troubles are behind you, you must be a school bus driver”
For a school bus driver, the problems often aren't so much the traffic in front of the bus as are the children in the back of the bus. "If all your troubles are behind you, you must be a…
Six Phases of a Project (“Enthusiasm, disillusionment, panic…”)
The "six phases of a project" have been jocularly described as: 1. Enthusiasm,2. Disillusionment,3. Panic,4. Search for the guilty,5. Punishment of the innocent, and6. Praise and honor…
Nosebleed Seat (Nosebleed Section; Nosebleeder)
A "nosebleed seat" ("nosebleeder") in a "nosebleed section" is a seat in an auditorium, theatre, arena or stadium that is so far away from the action being viewed,…
Venture Socialism
Senator Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) talked about President Obama's jobs bill on Fox News’s On the Record with Greta Van Susteren on September 14, 2011: “I would love to be able to work with the…
“The masses are asses”
Entry in progress -- B.P. “Be careful when you follow the masses. Sometimes the ‘M’ is silent” is a related saying. Wikipedia: The Masses Are AssesThe Masses Are Asses can refer to: . A…
Puzzle Palace (Pentagon, National Security Agency nickname)
The Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, is a five-sided building in Arlington County, Virginia that opened in 1943. The Pentagon nickname of "Puzzle Palace…
Fort Fumble (Pentagon nickname)
The Pentagon, the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, is a five-sided building in Arlington County, Virginia that opened in 1943. The Pentagon has been nicknamed "Fort…