WILDCATTER: 1: one that drills oil wells in territory not knowon to yield oil 2: one that promotes or sells stock in risky enterprises
Messing with a wildcat can be a pretty risky undertaking, but ferocious felines played only an indirect role in the development of the word "wildcatter." That term has been used in English since the late 19th century, and it most likely developed from the older verb "wildcat," which referred to risky practice of drilling experimental oil wells in territory not known to produce oil. English-speakers associated "wildcat" with risk taking ventures after a number of U.S. banks fraudulently issued banknotes with little or no capital to back them up. The banknotes issued by one particular bank bore the image of a panther, or, as it was known locally, a "wildcat," and those risky notes inspired the financial (and ultimately the risk-taking) senses of "wildcat" and "wildcatter."
No comments:
Post a Comment