High steppers, fallen angels, and lollipops: Wall Street slang

by Kathleen Odean

From "tickerosis" to "triple witching hour", from "Bo Dereks" to "Pac-Man Defenses". Wall Streeters have a slang all their own. This colorful oral tradition captures the lighter side of the financial markets, revealing an imaginative use of language and a clever sense of humor few would associate with the pin-striped image of the Street. Wall Street slang, like slang in other settings, mystifies outsiders and bands together those who share it. Anyone who wants to understand Wall Streeters must understand their slang. This book makes us all insiders as it discusses more than 500 terms describing market participants, types of stocks and bonds, ways of trading, unethical market activities, names of people, firms, and events, and the current take-over slang. It goes beyond mere definition, with jokes, legends, and anecdotes about the origins and history of the words, and offers a unique insight into how Wall Streeters view themselves, their customers, and the market itself.

212 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988