Trading Slang and
Expressions

• Babysitting:

  Wow, you sure have been babysitting that trade for awhile! - This means that you are holding a losing trade for a long time, hoping the price will increase enough so you can get out of the trade with an even balance.

• Buying Power:

  If that trader gets slammed again, his buying power will dwindle down to nothing! - The total of a trader's equity and all available margin.

• Crunching:

  Hey, watch that stock, it's crunching through the price level. - This happens when the support of a stock seems non-existent, and the price starts to fall rather quickly. 

 

• Investor:

  When you dare to hold the position overnight. - Hey, the market closing in a few minutes, are you going to sell that stock, or become an investor?"

• Jigged Out:

  I can't believe it! I got jigged out on a trade today! - When you're in a trade, and the market briefly turns around, usually fairly quickly, and you get swindled into closing out the trade.

• Learning Curve:

  That trader hasn't figured out the learning curve yet. - However long it takes you to figure out the rules of the game, and become a profitable trader.

• Melting:

  I melted my account today trading IBM - Taking large losses in a short amount of time. This loss is so large that the trader cannot continue to trade anymore.

• Nut:

  My trades today didn't even cover my nut. - A nut is the total cost of commissions on your trades.

• Printing on the "O":

  Wow, that stock's running, it's printing on the "O"! - When the trade price is wither below the Inside Bid price or higher than the Inside Ask price. "Overriding" prices indicate tremendous urgency to either buy or sell that stock.

• Scalper:

  I wish I could be a great scalper, like him. - A scalper is a high volume trader who is looking for small winners. An example is someone who trades 1,000 shares, and is only looking for 1/4 point or less.

• Slippage:

  I hate the slippage in SOES orders. - Market orders that get filled at disadvantageous higher or lower prices.

• Squiggly Lines:

  That trader uses a lot of squiggly lines on his chart. - Technical indicators that traders use on their charts to assist in trading.

• Stick:

  I bought IBM and it ran up three sticks. - A full point (or dollar).

• Tanking:

  Get out of your trade, the market's tanking! - Used to describe the market when it takes a sharp turn for the worst.

• Whacked:

  I got whacked on that trade. - A swift, sharp trade that goes against the trader.