The poetry of ‘bankrupt’ and ‘nest egg’

Mark Forsyth Apr 21, 2014
HTML EMBED:
COPY

The poetry of ‘bankrupt’ and ‘nest egg’

Mark Forsyth Apr 21, 2014
HTML EMBED:
COPY

As much as we talk about the financial markets, how often do we really stop to think about the words we’re using? Or how poetic they can be?

Mark Forsyth, author of “The Etymologicon: A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language” pondered the words we use to talk about the financial markets recently for The New York Times. Here’s one excerpt from his piece, which he read for us today:

“Sometimes, of course, bankers would run out of money, and when they did — in an age before the invention of TARP, bailouts and Ben Bernanke — their bench would be ceremonially smashed in front of them. It was then a ‘broken bench’ or ‘banca rotta’ or ‘bankrupt.’ Though trading terminals may be sturdy things, this is the sort of personalized and decisive action that I’m sure we all hope to see from Janet Yellen and her ax.”

Read more of Mark Forsyth’s essay here, and listen to his voice above.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.