Although you and I aren’t likely to find zillions in government of bailout money in our mailbox any time soon, students of language are having a field day with newly coined terms. Into every life a little rain must fall, but some observers of the global economic turmoil are beginning to say that even this cloud has a silver lining. Although you and I aren’t likely to find zillions in government bailout money in our mailbox any time soon, students of language are having a field day with newly coined terms. Here are some of the newest additions to the Spacelocker lexicon. Are you one who knows whether “chiconomic” and “TALF” are positive or negative terms? If you do and can use them in a sentence, you’re up to speed with a few of the dozens of terms the financial crisis has spawned. “Chiconomic” is a play on newly champagne-style-conscious-on-a-beer – budget consumers, and it joins similar terms like “frugalista” and “recessionista”. “Bangster” spins hip hop’s “gangsta” and ironically applies it to bankers, while “furcation” evolves from furlough-unpaid mandatory time off.
“Staycation” is a term that popped up when people could only afford to vacation at home, and it joins the popular staycation destination, “Balconville”. “Homedulgence” describes socializing at home due to tight money, and “Lead acid” comes from the growing practice of blurring the boundaries of business and leisure time. Lexicographers note that definitions can shift rapidly as situation change. Until the U.S. Treasury recently announced its plan to lure investors into buying toxic assets (the term asset-backed securities loan facility), getting TALF “d which is not necessarily the most attractive prospect. “Someone threatened to TALF me the other day,” one finance analyst commented.
“I think TALF means threaten to do something big, but then not actually do anything.” The definition of existing finance terms, like “Ponzi schemes”, seem to be fixed in our vocabulary already. The vivid pain and loss that Bernie Madoff’s many victims now feel seem to reinforce the chances that this 1920s term will stay with US. But Madoff’s defrauding his investors of $65 billion continues to inspire the funsters. A federal regulator coined the term “Ponzimonium” and “Ponzirama” to describe how such frauds have spiked, and “Ponzimonia” is the the nonmedical term for the illness that results. A baker’s dozen of more up-and comers: Renoviction: the practice of some landlords to move tenants out during renovations, then increase rents dramatically. Duppie: Depressed urban professional / downwardly mobile urban professional. Bad bank: proposed government-run bank that would allow private banks to unload their toxic assets zombie bank / Zombank / Zombiz: a bank or business that should have gone bust but remains undead through government bailouts. Shovel-ready: infrastructure projects that are ready to go when stimulus money is available. Stim pack: “stimulus package” (aka the American recovery and Reinvestment Act, or ARRA. TIGER: Transportation investment generating economic recovery. Three-legged stool: President Obama’s metaphoric for a multi-pronged approach to economic recovery (restoring jobs, restoring credit, regulatory reform). Spendulus: the Obama administration’s economic stimulus package. Porkulus: conservative opponents of the stimulus package see more “pork” than “stimulus.” Econolypse: the current economic crisis. HENRY: High earner but not rich yet. Stag-deflation: a growing economy in which prices fall. Tough times call for extra effort to stay close with our friends; together, we’ll make it through, and Spacelocker’s here to help everyone keep in touch.