Slang Trading Lingo
Welcome to the wild world of slang trading language, where traders speak a different language that's all their own! If you're not familiar with terms like "diamond hands", "stonks", or "degen", you might feel like you're in a foreign land when listening to traders talk. But fear not! In this article, we'll take you on a thrilling journey into the exciting and often confusing world of trading slang
- Stonk: A slang term that means "stock" and was derived from an internet meme featuring a man standing in front of numbers and a big orange arrow titled "stonks". It is used as a humorous reference to making poor financial decisions.
- Degen: A person who is investing in an asset is not driven by the perception of its value, but rather by the expectation that others will follow suit and engage in speculation on the price fluctuations.
- Diamond Hands: A phrase that refers to the act of holding onto a stock or option despite losses and volatility, in the hope that its price will eventually rise. The term is represented on memes by emojis of a diamond and hands, and while it can be indicative of risk-taking, it can also be an act of stubbornness.
- Tendies: A slang term used to refer to money or profit made from stock and options trading. It was originally coined on 4Chan as part of a reference to men who would be rewarded for good behavior with chicken tenders (their favorite food). The term eventually became associated with trading profits.
- YOLO: An acronym that stands for "You Only Live Once". It was popularized by the rap song "The Motto" and is often used to describe an extremely risky choice. On Wallstreetbets, it can refer to a trade where an investor puts in the majority of their capital.
- HODL: A term that originated from a typo for "hold" in a drunken internet rant by user GameKyuubi in 2013. It refers to the principle of holding onto a stock or cryptocurrency for a long period of time, as opposed to making short-term trades.
- To the Moon: A phrase used to indicate that a stock is expected to experience a significant increase in price, resulting in large profits for investors. It is often represented by emojis of rockets.
- Apes Together Strong: A phrase used to represent retail investors who unite to drive up the price of a stock that is expected to drop. It comes from the movie Planet of the Apes and represents the idea of everyday people uniting to defeat institutional investors.
- Bears: A term used to describe investors who feel bearish about a particular stock or the stock market in general. They are often seen as pessimistic on online forums like r/wallstreetbets.
- Buy High Sell Low: A joke about investment losses, expressed in a humorous reference to the traditional advice of "buy low and sell high". It refers to investors who bought high and sold low, resulting in significant losses
- "Buy the Dip" is a term used by investors who believe in the long-term potential of a particular stock. When the price of the stock experiences a slight dip amidst an overall upward trend, these investors see it as a temporary opportunity to buy the stock at a discounted price. This approach is often accompanied by the "Diamond Hands" and "To the Moon" memes to express confidence in the stock's potential.
- "Paper Hands" is a term used to describe traders who panic and sell their shares as soon as they encounter any negative news. This term has a negative connotation as it suggests that these traders act impulsively and out of fear.
- "We Like the Stock" is a phrase coined by Jim Cramer, the former host of Mad Money on CNBC. The phrase is used to express a positive sentiment towards holding a particular stock, similar to how Cramer used it on his show. During the GameStop short squeeze, Cramer acknowledged the power of the WallStreetBets community by saying that betting against them would only give them more ammunition, which was likely appreciated by members of the community.