The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1870-04-22
Prom the POst.l
BROKER ARGOT.
The Dialect of wall Street

)
| Street, is the title of a new work by
James X. Medbery, issued to-day by
Messrs. Field OsgOOd & Co. The vol
: ume is illustrated with engravings OF
buildings and interiors, being the
haunts of the Bulls and the Bears,
; and contains many piquant descTip-
tiOns of the Stock exchange and its
daily routine. The following account
, of the "slang of the street" will be
explanatory, tO some readers, terms
otherwise incOmprchensible to then.
"What is broker drgOt ? 1t is halt
technicalities, half slang. Brokers
have this in common with the liberal
prOfessiOns-they deal in Il dialect
which is dcid1' to the multitude. No
body buys coffee or copper or tea
chests, for purpOsse of profit, without
a tOIerable insight into trademarks,
ways of sale and ordinary merchant
shop talk. But mankind goes 10 its
doctors, lawyers, architects, chemists,
lstOck-hrOkers, with "A distinct feeling
of ignorance, and a consciousness that
an assumption of knowledge would be
I eNtra-haZardOuS under the cirCum-
stances. Very clever mOney-men,
unless they have taken lessons in the
school, will find themselves beyond
their depth in attempting fiuency in
Wall street jargOn. Ordinary anna
teur spectators are aS amusing rs
Mrs. Malaprop. For although con-
slant iteration has made certain phTa-
SEES familiar, yet there is Il subtle
something i'm the intercourse Of habit
! ual dealers i'm stock which renders
a counterfeit distinctly recognizable.
"Street drgot is like other drgOt. 1t
is mainly the OutgrOwth of necessity.
I In sale or purchase, such appreVatiOns
as "Oash, " '.Regular," Buyer 50. y
fAt the Opening" "AbOut' ''iSold, I"
'sTen up,o with their endless Yaril
tiOns, are phrases without which, or
without some similar appropriations
of speech, a large stock market would
he impossible. Nalues change with
such rapidity, new tactics and strate-
gy must be assumed so suddenly, that
u systematiZed and routine vOcabula-
Fy is as essential rs the keys of y pia-
10 To the musician. Many of the
sale phrases of the Boards have al
ready been incidentally given; Others
will presently be explained. But
there is great mass of jargOn which
not strictly belong To this specific
field. Every style and manner of bro
kerage has its name. Every shade
and flavor of fspeculatiOn-the artifices,
frauds, deceptiOns of the business -
are generally nicknamed and gibbet-
ed with an epithet. Some of this jar
gon owes its origin to 'Change Alley
and the Paris BOurse. Much is essen
italy American. Always more pi-
l. Il N
certain street flavor like the perfume
of hOstelries, sometimes cruel, gross,
harsh--it preSents,a strong fusion of
the coarseness of money-getting with
the elan and vivaciousness of success
| ful speculation. 1t would be useless
to attempt complete glossary. There
are words of a day, as well as the
picked phrases of centuries. For
stOckdealers are the keenest men in
the civilized hcmispheres, and no pos
sible variation or new shuttle of cards
but finds some one witty enough to
piniOn it with an appropriate epithet.
Many of the phrases which we subjOin
have already been explained in con-
nectiOn with tile machinery of specu-
latiOn.
al tJrook' ia the market. Where
stock is kept up 10y artificial means,
and n money stringeney, or similar
| cause, makes il difficult To carry the
| load, the attack of bear clique or the
actual inability of holders will pro-
duce Il decline in value. The market
breaks down. ..I..
"BGliOORipg. To work upa stock
far beyond its intrinsic worth, by ia
vurable stories fictitious sales, Gr 9TH
cr cO9natc means.
| "HOck y number oG shares, say
| 5000 or 10000, nI:L+sed together, and
sold or IloIyht in Il lump
/ 10 ''livg IN. The act ul purclIIs-
| ing stOcli i'm order tu meet u short
contract, or Ia enable one 60, return
stock which has been borrowed.
"CdJTgiHg stock. To hold stock
with the expectation of selling it ut an
4 advance.
Clique. A combination of opera
tors, controlling vast capital, in order
To unduly expand or break down the
market.
"COHrersiOHs' Bonds are frequent
ly issued with provision whereby
they can at any moment be eXchang-
ed for equivalent stock. Such securi-
| ties are called convertible and the
act of substitution Is styled 'cOnver-
sidn' .I . .r... '..
"C0raers. When the market is Ov-.
cIssold, the shorts, if compelled la de
liver, find themselves in a corner.
| 'Fhe laOCius Operdadj-is detailed in
| Chapter vi. - t# H.-
"COiIdterdIs Any kind of Wall
street values given in pawn, when
money is borrowed. .. l.F
"COUcP, to 'cOrer ones shorts
Where stock las been sold and the
market rises, the seller buys where he
can i'm order to protect himself OH the
day Of delivery. This is covering
short sales.
"CtirJst0ie 6rOkerS-Men who are
not members of any regular OrganiZa-
ton, and do business mainly nIOn the
sidewalk. lI... l. ~tI,
DeliUeI7J-When stock Is brought
tO the buyer in exact accordance with
the rules of the Stock Exchange, it is
called q good delivery When there
are irregnlarities-the shares being of
unacceptable ISSUES, the power of at
tOrney not being satisfactory, or in
some way the rules of the exchange
are cOntTaVenetl--the delivery is pro-
nounced had, and the buyer can APP
peal to the board. '-....
. F.. q differences. The price at which
stock Is bargained for and the rate on
day OH delivery are usually not the
same. The variation is known - the
difference and occasionally brokers
pay over this money balance instead
of furnishing the stock. Such cases
are exceedingly rare, notwithstanding
the public opinion To the contrary.
f" A 'drOD' IN q stock is equivalent to
a Break except that it may possibly
he due to wholly natural causes.
"DHcE : dedd duck lrD5e duck 4
Phrases as old rs the London Stock /
Exchange. The lame duck is a bro .
ker who has failed 10 meet his ell f,
gagements, and dead duck is one 4
who is absolutely bankrupt past all (
recovery. If he haunts the Street, il .
is a. 'curI,stone' broker.
" Fj7ef4ig Quotations is where bro
kers wish to keep up tlIe price Of a .
stock, and to prevent its falling out Of .
sight.
i|This IL generally accomplished by .
a small sale, or by washing
"Fydt-1iiis term j. used where
money or stocks are lent without IN .
terest."
IA 'fyet.' is a small side operation.
not employing ones whole capital. IL
is nearly equivalent To- what * oTdin-
arily known a. = venture.
''GOSii1,g-A lame goose. ..
" Ginning q &6eE j. tO use every art
Ia produce break" when il j.
known that certain house i heavily
supplied, and would I've unable to re-
sist an attack. ..
4 GNttcrstipeS CIrlefone brokers.
- 'HOttling the market Is to bury >uf-
ficient stock at the boards Ia keep the .
price from declining. 'aHi..
" "Hypothecdting- Putting up collate-
rails,
"JO6ber Used only conventional
~ i'm Wall street. In London il is the .
equivalant Of an operator. 4
"JOsh. A word shouted at the eX-
change in order to wake up sleepy .
member.