Investigating the origins of American words, names, quotations and phrases. Over 41,000 entries.
Sometimes the stock market can rally on bad financial news. There could be several reasons for this. The first reason is that the stock market might have discounted the bad news in advance as…
Gray's Papaya began in 1973 at Broadway and West 72nd Street, offering hot dogs and papaya juice just like the older Papaya King. In the late 1980s or early 1990s, Gray's began offering a…
An old Wall Street saying is: "It's not a stock market, but a market of stocks." This means that it's not important if the stock market (such as the Dow Jones Industrial…
The lunch wagon (often called the "night lunch wagon" or "night owl" or "owl" because of the night hours of the business) is first cited in a Worcester (MA) newspaper…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Hawaiian pizzaHawaiian pizza is a pizza which usually consists of a cheese and tomato base with pieces of ham and pineapple. Some versions include bacon,…
"Today a peacock, tomorrow a feather duster" is an old reminder that success can be fleeting. A rooster replaces the peacock in some versions of the saying. "Peacock Today,…
In the first half of the 20th century, many Jewish people escaped crowded Manhattan and took the newly built subway line to homes in the borough of the Bronx (often along its popular street, the…
The "Texas Roll" sushi roll is offered at several Japanese restaurants, but the ingredients do not appear to have been standardized. Jalapeños are often included. Sushi Zushi (Dallas…
"No bowl of borscht" appears to possibly have been a short-lived New York City variant of "not chopped liver." A Southern variation of the same idea would be to compare…
"To err is human; to forgive, divine" is a famous quotation from the English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744). "To err is human; to hedge (is) divine" (or, "To speculate is…
"A stock doesn't know you own it" is a proverb that's been used by financial writer "Adam Smith" (George Goodman) in the 1960s and also investor Warren Buffett. The…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Wikipedia: Halloween indicatorThe Halloween indicator is a theory that the period from November to April inclusive has significantly stronger stock market growth on…
"Speculate to accumulate" (that is, "take chances to win big") appears to have started in gambling and was cited by Broadway scribe Walter Winchell by 1941. The phrase is more…
The "Twinkie" cake was invented in the 1930s in the Midwest, but the deep-fried Twinkie was invented in Brooklyn. Christopher Sell (originally from England) opened a Brooklyn fish &…
Texas Tech University began a campaign featuring the slogan "From here, it's possible" in 2006. The slogan highlights the university's many degree programs where students can…
Entry in progress -- B.P. Google Groups: misc.invest.stocksNewsgroups: misc.invest.stocksFrom: mbk%anl433.u...@Germany.EU.net (Matt Kennel)Date: 10 Feb 1994 04:47:55 GMTLocal: Wed, Feb 9 1994 11:47…
The "rubber band effect" (or "V rally," describing how it looks on a chart) describes the stock market as like a rubber band, ready to bounce back from any large losses or…
"Aunt Jane” is Wall Street’s term for the average, unsophisticated investor. Personifying someone with an “aunt” or an “uncle” name is commonplace and is often difficult to trace…
"Aunt Millie" (often said to be from Omaha or Dubuque) is Wall Street's term for the average, unsophisticated investor. "Aunt Agatha" is another name that is sometimes…
A "graveyard market" is the end of a long bear market -- when the stock market seems like a "graveyard." Long-time investors have suffered large losses, but stay in the market…