“No tree grows to the sky” (Wall Street adage)
"No tree grows to the sky" (or, "No tree grows to heaven") is an old Wall Street saying meaning that a bull market (good business times) cannot continue forever. The saying…
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Crap Sandwich
A "crap sandwich" is something unpalatable that, for some reason or other, is being served up. The term became famous on September 28, 2008, when Congressman John Boehner (R-Ohio) called…
“Cut your losses and let your profits run” (Wall Street proverb)
"Cut your losses (short) and let your profits run" is an old Wall Street adage, cited in print from at least 1837. The proverb is frequently attributed to British economist David Ricardo…
“Bulls and bears make money, but pigs get slaughtered” (Wall Street adage)
An old Wall Street saying has it that the bulls can make money and the bears can make money, but the pigs (hogs) always lose. A "pig" or "hog" is someone who wants to make a…
“Never fall in love with a stock” (Wall Street adage)
Investors often fall in love with stocks that increase in value or pay good dividends. "Never fall in love with a stock" is a Wall Street adage cited in print from at least the 1950s.…
“Scared money never wins” (gambling, Wall Street adage)
"Scared money never wins" is a gambler's adage that was used in New York City in the 1940s and 1950s. The adage has been used in poker, horseracing and (perhaps inevitably) Wall…
“You make your money in stocks, you keep it in bonds” (Wall Street adage)
The stock market is often viewed to be riskier than the bond market. "You make your money in stocks, you keep in in bonds" is said to be an old Wall Street adage, but print citations…
“In a bear market, money returns to its rightful owners” (Wall Street proverb)
In a bear market (a recession or a depression), many investors lose money. A Wall Street proverb is: "In a bear market, money returns to its rightful owner(s)." The adage is cited in…
“If you’re going to panic, panic early” (Wall Street proverb)
"If you're going to panic, panic early!" is a Wall Street proverb that's cited in print from at least 2000. It means that one should be the first to sell (and get the highest…
“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…
“When the ducks quack, feed them” (Wall Street proverb)
Wall Street is in business to make money; when investors want to buy something (such as an initial public offering), that something is offered for sale. It doesn't make any difference if Wall…
“Buy straw hats in the winter” (Wall Street proverb)
"Buy straw hats in the winter" (out of season, when the prices are cheapest) is an old Wall Street proverb that's usually credited to financier Russell Sage (1816-1906). Another…
Buda (summary)
The city of Buda (a growing suburb of Austin, the Texas state capital) has a disputed origin of its name. It had long been thought that "Buda" was a corruption of the Spanish word…
Marfa (summary)
The city of Marfa in West Texas had long thought to have been named by a railroad executive's wife after reading a Russian novel. ("Marfa" is Russian for the woman's name…
“Keep Denton Chido”
"Keep Denton Chido" ("chido" is Spanish for "cool") is a 2008 entry in another city knockoff of the slogan "Keep Austin Weird." The seemingly endless…
Caesarism
While the United States presidency had long had no formal term limits, it was generally respected that no president would serve longer than the two terms served by the first president, George…
“If Santa Claus should fail to call, bears may come to Broad & Wall” (Santa Claus Rally)
A "Santa Claus Rally" is a stock rally at the end of the year, at Christmas and New Year's Day. Yale Hirsch first described the rally in his Stock Trader's Almanac. By 1972,…
“Sell down to the sleeping point” (Wall Street proverb)
The stock market sometimes causes many people to lose sleep. An old Wall Street proverb is to "sell down to the sleeping point" -- that is, only assume the risk that can make you sleep…
“Bear markets slide down a slope of hope” (Wall Street proverb)
The Wall Street proverb that "bear markets slide down a slope of hope" is cited in print from the 1990s. It is said that bear markets begin when there is great hope and optimism. An…
“Bull markets climb a wall of worry” (Wall Street proverb)
An old Wall Street proverb says that the stock market "climbs a wall of worry" to march into bullish territory. The "wall of worry" phrase is cited in print from at least the…