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October 4, 2008
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Fear and greed move markets” (Wall Street proverb)

It's often said that Wall Street has only two emotions -- fear and greed. Fear creates panic selling and drives markets down. Greed creates buying frenzies and drives markets up. The proverb…

January 20, 2011
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Fear is temporary, greed is permanent”

A Wall Street saying since at least the 1960s is that "fear and greed move markets." Thomas N. Mathers, president of a Chicago investment counselling firm (Mathers and Company) and…

June 22, 2023
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Federal Reserve Note: Monopoly money backed by the violence of the state”

Many people have commented that Federal Reserve Notes are comparable to Monopoly money -- that is, paper backed by nothing. "FEDERAL RESERVE NOTES: MONOPOLY MONEY BACKED BY THE VIOLENCE OF THE…

September 23, 2022
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Fifty female pigs plus fifty male deer equals one hundred sows and bucks”

A joke tells an easy way to get rich. Get 50 female pigs and 50 male deer and you will have one hundred sows and bucks ($100,000, or "one hundred thousand bucks"). The joke has been cited…

June 18, 2006
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Financial Services for the Greater Good” (TIAA-CREF)

"Financial Services for the Greater Good" is the slogan of TIAA-CREF (Teachers Insurance And Annuity Association/College Retirement Equities Fund). http://www.tiaa-cref.org/…

August 12, 2011
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“First the free market dies, then dies democracy”

Folker Hellmeyer, the chief strategist with Bremer Landesbank, was quoted on a German website on October 12, 2008: "Erst stirbt der freie Markt, dann stirbt die Demokratie.""First…

December 26, 2012
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Folks spend their health to acquire wealth and later spend their wealth to regain their health”

"Health is wealth is an old proverb, and a version of it is "Folks spend their health to acquire wealth and later spend their wealth to regain their health." "Janesville people…

May 15, 2016
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Fools rush in where wise men fear to trade”

"For fools rush in where angels fear to tread" is a famous line in English poet Alexander Pope's "An Essay on Criticism" (1711). A horse-buying parody was popular in 1881:…

October 6, 2009
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Four cents short of a nickel”

"Four cents short of a nickel" is a description of someone who is "not all there." The expression is found on many lists of "full deckisms" (that is, "he's…

March 10, 2018
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Friends are people who stick together until debt do them part”

People marry until "death do them part." A saying about friends was attributed to New York City-born character actor Keenan Wynn (1916-1986), as described in this newspaper column about…

November 6, 2012
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Fun is like insurance — the older you get. the more it costs”

"Life Insurance...the older you get the more it costs" has been cited in life insurance advertisements since at least 1905. In March 1911, Frank McKinney "Kin" Hubbard…

July 19, 2011
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Gas, Grass or Ass—Nobody rides for free”

"Gas, Grass or Ass -- Nobody Rides Free!" was a popular bumper sticker, cited in print since at least May 1978. The message means that, to pay for a ride, the driver will accept gas…

May 7, 2009
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Gather those rosebuds”

Larry Wachtel (1930-2007) was the "Voice of Wall Street" on WINS news radio in New York City from 1972 to 2005. He signed off with his catchphrase, "gather those rosebuds."…

May 9, 2005
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Get Met. It Pays” (Metropolitan Life)

Metropolitan Life (or, Met Life) has been in New York City for about 130 years. Its most popular representation is the Met Life building at 200 Park Avenue (formerly the Pan Am building). "Get…

August 2, 2011
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Get while the gettin’s good”

"Get (in/out) while the gettin(g)'s good" means to take advantage of market conditions, getting in or getting out at just the right time to make or save the maximum amount of money.…

October 8, 2013
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Getting on the check”

"Getting on the dole" is an old term for being on public assistance. People who qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from Social Security because of a disability are called…

October 8, 2013
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Getting on the draw”

"Getting on the dole" is an old term for being on public assistance. People who qualify for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) from Social Security because of a disability are called…

March 14, 2024
Banking/Finance/InsuranceGovernment/Law/Military/Religion /Health

“Give a homeless person counterfeit money. They’ll go to prison and no longer be homeless”

There are two memes about giving a homeless person counterfeit money. "Give a homeless person counterfeit money. They'll go to prison and no longer be homeless" (shown on an image)…

December 19, 2008
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime”

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime." This phrase is popularly used in the business world, where it is often said that having…

January 22, 2023
Banking/Finance/Insurance

“Give a man a gun and he can rob a bank. Give a man a bank and he can rob the world”

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime” is a popular proverb. "Give a man a gun and he'll rob a bank. Give a man a bank…

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BARRY POPIK is a contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary, Dictionary of American Regional English, Historical Dictionary of American Slang, Yale Book of Quotations and Dictionary of Modern Proverbs. Since 1990 he has also been a regular contributor to Gerald Cohen's Comments on Etymology.

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