Category: For What It’s Worth

Our occasional look at the meanings and origins of words and expressions investors may encounter considers the word “bankrupt.” Let’s just say that the process of bankruptcy is a lot more lenient than it used to be. […]

By Joel Dresang Sometimes when an individual undergoes an abrupt change, we say they’ve gone “cold turkey.” The expression long applied to drug addicts who tried to quit with little transition. More recently, the phrase has covered wider circumstances, such as moving from work to retirement with little preparation. […]

By Joel Dresang Partly because they’re reluctant to spend, partly because they lack opportunities, U.S. consumers have been squirreling away record mounds of money. They socked away nearly $3 trillion in 2020, a stash that could eventually help quicken economic recovery. In our occasional look at the meanings and origins of financial expressions, we consider…

By Joel Dresang We associate the clause “till death do us part” with a marriage vow. Etymologically, though, it should be part of a mortgage. […]

The word “volatility” describes stock prices taking off then plummeting, soaring like an eagle, then diving like a loon. For What It’s Worth is an occasional look at the meanings and origins of words and expressions investors encounter. […]

The common name for the day after Thanksgiving has more than one story behind it. One story dates back almost to the first national Thanksgiving holiday and has nothing to do with the occasion. Another uses “Black Friday” as a term of disparagement. A third story appears to be just made up. […]

The expression “silver bullet” is a conflation of a medical term coined by a Nobel laureate and the calling card of a legendary lawman of the Old West. […]

Credit for coining the term “skin in the game” commonly goes to the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett. But as wise and quotable as the billionaire is, the internet can easily overattribute him. As Yogi Berra is said to have said, “I never said most of the things I said.” […]

Bears and Bulls aren’t just the names of Chicago-based sports teams. They’re symbols of investor expectations. Since the 1700s, bears have been associated with investors anticipating prices will go down, while bulls believe prices are trending upward. As part of an occasional exploration of the origins of financial lingo, Joel Dresang hunts down how these…