Golden Parachute
A "golden parachute" is when a company tries to avoid a hostile takeover and aims to protect its top employees. A clause is added to these top employees' contracts that, in the event…
Long Jelly Roll (Short Jelly Roll)
Entry in progress -- B.P. InvestopediaWhat Does Long Jelly Roll Mean?An option strategy that aims to profit from a time value spread through the sale and purchase of two call and two put options,…
Flight to Quality
A "flight to quality" is when investors sell higher-risk investments and purchase lower-risk investments (with lower potential returns). In the past, a "flight to quality" has…
Foam the Runway
An airport foams a runway when a crash landing is expected, minimizing the impact of the crash. The financial markets have long used the airplane language of a "soft landing" or a…
Toppy
"Toppy" means that a stock (or the stock market) is at or near a "top," so buying is risky and selling might be in order. "Toppy" can be a matter of opinion; one stock…
“Eat your own dog food”
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Eating your own dog foodEating your own dog food, also called dogfooding, is when a company (usually, a software company) uses the products that it makes.…
Fleabagger (flea + teabagger)
"Fleabagger" (flea + "teabagger") has been used since at least April 16, 2009 as an alternative term for "teabagger." "Fleabagger" is a derogatory term. A…
Fleebagger (flee + teabagger/fleabagger)
In February 2011, Democratic Wisconsin lawmakers fled the state to prevent the legislature from obtaining a quorum and voting on bills to require concessions from the state's unionized…
Microwave Legislation
In February 2011, the govenor of Wisconsin proposed laws to close a budget gap, reducing the benefits of the state's union employees. There were protests in Madison (the capital) and…
“If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck”
Emil Mazey (1913-1983), the secretary-treasurer of the United Automobile Workers for 33 years, said at a labor meeting in 1946: "I can't prove you are a Communist. But when I see a bird…
Teahadist (tea party + jihadist)
"Teahadist" (tea party + jihadist) is an epithet used against tea party members, comparing them to religious fanatics dedicated to jihad. The term "teahadist" has been cited in…
“The cemeteries are full of indispensable men”
"The cemeteries/graveyards are full of indispensable men/people" means that no one is indispensable. The saying has been credited to Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929) and Charles de Gaulle…
Dawn Raid
On February 12, 1980, Harry Oppenheimer (of South Africa's De Beers diamond mining and trading company) instructed London broker Rowe & Pitman to buy many shares in Consolidated Gold…
Localwashing (local + whitewash)
"Localwashing" (local + whitewash) is when a restaurant advertises that it uses locally grown foods (or when a food product claims to be locally grown), but the authenticity of the…
Biflation (bi- + deflation/inflation)
Biflation (bi + deflation/inflation) is when both deflation and inflation occur at the same time. For example, there might be deflation in housing, but inflation in commodities. The term…
Documented Instance of Public Eating (DIPE)
"Documented Instance of Public Eating" (DIPE) appeared in the February 2011 New York (NY) Times, with the new term credited to film publicist Jeremy Walker. Walker had noticed that the…
Bankers’ Hours
Traditionally, a bank's hours have been short, such as from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The hours have almost never extended to the late afternoon or early evening, or on the weekends. To work…
3-6-3 Rule
The "3-6-3" rule or formula in banking meant that a bank gives 3% interest on accounts, charges 6% interest on loans, and the banker is to be found on the golf course by 3 p.m. The…
Diworsification (diversification + worse)
"Diworsification" (diversification + worse) is diversification for the worse. Diversification is often sought so that one doesn't have the high risk of "all the eggs in one…
Dash to Trash
The "dash to trash" is when overbuying occurs (the "dash" to buy) of stocks that have fallen precipitously in value and are thought to be cheap ("trash") or of…